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PITTSBURGH -- Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie has withdrawn his offer to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins, current owner Mario Lemieux said Friday.

Balsillie, whose company makes the BlackBerry wireless messaging device, had signed an agreement on Oct. 5 to buy the Penguins from Lemieux's group for about $175 million.

But Balsillie apparently stopped negotiating with the NHL to finalize the deal, Lemieux said in a statement.

"Jim Balsillie delivered a notice of termination today, and it our understanding that he has stopped negotiating with the National Hockey League to get the necessary consent to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins," Lemieux said.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman called the developments "unfortunate" in a statement released Friday evening.

Balsillie had previously pledged he was committed to keeping the team in Pittsburgh -- a condition the NHL had all but mandated as long as a new arena is built.

Balsillie began negotiating after the Penguins and Toronto businessman Sam Fingold could not complete a deal.

Lemieux said the news creates "significant uncertainty" for the team.

"The Penguins' organization will reevaluate our situation after the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board makes the decision on the awarding of the Pittsburgh gaming license," he said.

He also reiterated the team's commitment to a plan proposed by Isle of Capri.

Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. has promised to build a $290 million arena to replace 45-year-old Mellon Arena, at no cost to taxpayers or the team, if it is awarded a license to build a slot machines parlor in the city. The other two applicants are expected to provide money toward an arena, but neither would fully fund a new building.

With the Penguins free to relocate once their Mellon Arena lease expires in June, city and county officials are working on an alternate plan if Isle of Capri does not get the license. Allegheny County chief executive Dan Onorato has pledged that an arena will be built even if it is not fully paid for with casino money, and parcels of land near Mellon Arena already have been acquired for the project.

On Friday, Bettman repeated warnings that the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh is uncertain if the Isle of Capri casino chain is not awarded a license to build a slots parlor in the city.

"If the Isle of Capri is not granted the license on Wednesday, then an already volatile situation will be aggravated," he said. "It is imperative that the Penguins have a new arena on economic terms that make sense for the franchise and for the team to remain in Pittsburgh."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press