Tampa - An unnamed buyer has emerged with interest in acquiring Channelside Bay Plaza and it is not Tampa Bay Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik.

The Tampa Bay Times said the mystery buyers could be an ownership group formed by Liberty Group and Convergent Capital Partners. One of the major barriers to a deal, the ability of former owner Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. of New York to block the purchase by using "right of first refusal,” has been resolved, according to the report.

The deal could bring together two power players. Convergent, a private equity firm, has purchased $370 million worth of Florida property since 2008. Liberty is a hotel and commercial developer with $265 million worth of property across eight states, the Times said.