Dewey Ranch request to order NHL to participate in mediation taken under advisement

By Alice Popovici

New York, Sept. 23 - Dewey Ranch Hockey, LLC's request to compel the National Hockey League to participate in mediation to resolve issues surrounding the proposed sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to PSE Sports & Entertainment was not granted during a Wednesday hearing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, according to an attorney familiar with the case.

"[The] court took it under advisement," the attorney said, but declined to comment further. No future hearing date has yet been set.

As previously reported, Dewey Ranch has supported the $212.5 proposed sale to PSE, a company started by Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie, but the NHL objected because it was conditioned on the team being moved to Southern Ontario.

NHL made its own bid for the team, under which the league would assume the $80 million of debt owed to SOF Investments, LP from the team's current owners, about $37 million owed to the NHL, payment of cure costs and $7.5 million in designated unsecured liabilities.

Ice Edge, a company that was formed to acquire the Phoenix Coyotes, with the intention of keeping the team in Arizona for the longer term, on Sept. 9 withdrew its offer because it was unable to finalize lease details in time for the Sept. 10 sale auction.

Dewey Ranch wants to reach an agreement in regard to the sale, the timing and feasibility of relocating the Coyotes to Ontario and the amount of the relocation fee to be paid to NHL in connection with the relocation, according to the motion.

Dewey Ranch Hockey, LLC, Arena Management Group, LLC, Coyotes Holdings, LLC and Coyotes Hockey, LLC are the owners of the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team. The owners filed for bankruptcy on May 5 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. Their Chapter 11 case number is 09-09488.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.