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Jerry Reinsdorf has bid up to $148 million to buy the Phoenix Coyotes in a move to keep the bankrupt National Hockey League team in Arizona.

Reinsdorf, who owns the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls and is a part-time Arizona resident, submitted a bid in the US Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix that was below the $212.5 million previously offered by Research in Motion's co-chief executive James Balsillie.

The Canadian billionaire wants to move the team to southern Ontario.

Friday was the deadline for submitting bids for an August 5 auction limited to bidders planning to keep the team in Arizona. If Reinsdorf's bid is deemed inadequate, the court will hold a second auction on September 10 -- open to other bidders who have the option to move the team.

Reinsdorf's bid was the only one submitted.

NHL officials could not be reached for comment and the attorney for Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes said he was still reviewing the offer and had no immediate comment.

According to court documents, Reinsdorf's group will include former Arizona state senator John Kaites. Tony Tavares, the former chief executive of Disney Sports Enterprises, which launched the Anaheim Ducks NHL team, will join the group later, court documents said.

Reinsdorf's bid includes a payment of $79.7 million to Michael Dell's private equity firm MSD Capital and $38.8 million to the NHL, according to court documents. Smaller amounts will be paid to foodservice company Aramark and the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, where the Coyotes arena is located.

In his bid, Reinsdorf said he expects to renegotiate the team's arena lease agreement with the city of Glendale, as well as reach new deals with Aramark and the team's regional TV broadcaster, according to court documents.

Balsillie offered to buy the team when it filed for bankruptcy protection in May, on condition he be able to relocate the franchise.

The Coyotes, who are coached and partly owned by hockey's all-time scoring leader Wayne Gretzky, have never made a profit since moving to Arizona in 1996.

The NHL has maintained that it wants the team to remain in Arizona, but Balsillie spokesman Bill Walker said his client's position has not changed.

"Jim Balsillie's effort to purchase the Coyotes and relocate the team to Hamilton continues," he said in an email.

Balsillie failed in previous efforts to buy NHL teams in Pittsburgh and Nashville and move them to Hamilton.

Reuters