• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 1, 2013

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, has made an offer to acquire the Outdoor Channel, which would thwart a proposed merger with the Sportsman Channel.

Kroenke's offer is for $8.75 a share -- a 16% premium over Friday’s closing price.

The offer could upend Outdoor Channel Holdings’ deal to merge with InterMedia Outdoor Holdings, which owns the Sportsman Channel and a slew of outdoor enthusiast magazines.

Under an arrangement announced last year, Outdoor Channel shareholders would receive $8 a share or one share in the newly merged company. Outdoor Channel shareholders were expected to consider the merger at a meeting March 13.

Stan Kroenke, who controls the eponymous company, owns 1.25 million shares of Outdoor Channel. Kroenke Sports has proposed an all-cash transaction at the $8.75 a share.

In a letter to the Outdoor Channel board, Kroenke Sports said its bid is more favorable than the proposed InterMedia merger for two reasons: There would be no “uncertainty tied to financing,” and the move would not “cap your ability” to seek damages if an agreement “willfully” falls through on Kroenke's end.

Kroenke Sports also owns the Altitude Sports & Entertainment regional sports network. UTR, an entity that owns 2%-plus of Outdoor Channel Holdings, has been trying to stop the InterMedia merger, believing it undervalues the company.