The auction proposal is subject to the approval of creditors.

And the call auction proposal is also well advanced, Mr. Phelan said.

Broadcasters and television equipment manufacturers have already begun publicity and lobbying campaigns to stop any auction proposal.

"I don't blame the Autrys," said Mr. Ward, who helped review auction proposals for the station.

The father of nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman canceled its auction proposal option.

They also contended that Sotheby's failed to deliver on promises made in an auction proposal that detailed possible promotional tools and events for the auction.

The Texas Air board's announcement came hours after Judge Lifland postponed for a week a hearing on an auction proposal for Eastern's sale.

Senator Domenici surprised many of his colleagues last Friday, scheduling a Senate Budget Committee hearing for next week to analyze the value of different auction proposals.

The reorientation of bankruptcy toward the quick sales envisioned in the auction proposal of Prof. Oliver Hart and Prof. John H. Moore is welcome.

A federal judge in Sacramento approved the government's auction proposal last August as a way for the group seeking restitution to collect some of the $15 million it is owed by court order.

Grumman, which quickly rejected the open auction proposal, has been seeking a closed auction, having imposed a 5 P.M. Thursday deadline for the two companies to submit their best and final bids.

"The auction proposal is an interesting idea that needs additional study," said Richard M. Kelly, chairman and chief executive of Aubrey G. Lanston & Company, a primary dealer in government securities.

Mr. Kresa said in the letter today that he could not accept Grumman's auction proposal and that to be fair, "both bidders should have a reasonable opportunity to respond to each bid by the other."

In a letter last week, Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, a co-sponsor of the bill with Mr. Dingell, said he was "committed to considering an auction proposal" that would protect the public interest.