The Ottawa Senators are on the verge of being sold to Toronto billionaire Michael Andlauer for nearly $1 billion, according to multiple reports.
The Senators announced that Andlauer has entered into an agreement to purchase 90% of the franchise. From there, the league’s executive board and commissioner Gary Bettman would need to approve the deal, and then it would need to be ratified by the NHL’s board of governors.
Anna and Olivia Melnyk, daughters of late former owner Eugene Melnyk, will retain 10% interest. Melnyk died of an undisclosed illness in March 2022 at age 62.
The board of governors has a meeting scheduled in New York on June 22, but there may not be enough time to get everything in place for a vote by then.
If the deal goes through, it would set a record for the highest sale price in NHL history.
“My family and I are very excited to be a part of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club,” Andlauer said in a statement. I believe that the Senators’ fanbase is one of the most passionate in the league and I’m excited to take the franchise’s success both on and off the ice to the next level.”
The Senators haven’t had much to celebrate recently, missing the playoffs in each of the past six seasons.
“Michael represents everything we could have hoped to find coming into this process — a passionate owner who is committed to Ottawa,” Senators chairman and governor Sheldon Plener said in a statement. “We believe it is a momentous day for the National Capital Region.”
Last year, Sportico valued the team at $655 million, ranking 27th out of the 32 NHL teams.
Nine different groups, including those involving actor Ryan Reynolds, hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg and R&B singer The Weeknd, made offers in the initial bidding. The field narrowed to four finalists before Andlauer, currently a minority owner of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, emerged as the top candidate.
Andlauer, 57, is the founder and CEO of a health care group with transportation options for that sector and started a private equity company based in Toronto. He owned the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs from 2004-2015, then purchased the Ontario Hockey League’s Belleville Bulls and moved them to Hamilton.
The most recent NHL teams to change ownership were the Pittsburgh Penguins, which were sold to Fenway Sports Group in 2021 for $900 million, and the Nashville Predators, who were sold to a group headed by former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam earlier this year for $880 million.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ottawa Senators to be sold for nearly $1 billion to Michael Andlauer
