Michael Andlauer has reached an agreement in principle to purchase the Ottawa Senators. Tuesday's news marks the beginning of the end of a process that lasted more than seven months.
After months of patience and yearning from fans, Canada's capital and beyond, the winning bid for the Ottawa Senators belongs to the group of Michael Andlauer.
"Subject to approval by both the National Hockey League and finalization of the sale process, Andlauer will assume control of the organization's operations," said the team's statement.
Andlauer's bid was chosen by the estate of late owner Eugene Melnyk and New York-based investment bank Galatioto Sports Partners to close a deal with the NHL.
The deal is believed to be worth close to $1 billion, according to Postmedia. If it's more than $900 million, which it's reported to be, it will set a new NHL record for the highest transaction.
"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' fan base 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 short and long-term future of the team is incredibly bright, and I look forward to getting to know the team, the fan base and the community."
For next steps, Andlauer's bid must be approved by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the executive board before going to the board of governors for a vote.
Andlauer, 57, is the founder and CEO of Andlauer Healthcare Group, which focuses on offering logistics, temperature-controlled transportation and other specialized transport solutions for the healthcare sector, including delivering COVID-19 vaccines to a number of provinces in Canada. He is also the founder of Bulldog Capital Partners Inc., which is a Toronto-based merchant bank.
Andlauer owns 10 percent of the Montreal Canadiens and will have to sell his stake in the team to own the Senators. He also owns the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs, formerly known as the Hamilton Bulldogs, which most recently won the OHL championship in 2021-22.
Farm Boy co-CEO and Ottawa native Jeff York told CTV News Ottawa he is part of Andlauer's group.
Michael Andlauer holds the J. Ross Robertson Cup after the Hamilton Bulldogs won the 2022 OHL playoffs."The short and long-term future of the team is incredibly bright, and I look forward to getting to know the team, the fan base and the community." - Michael Andlauer
It has been more than seven months since the Ottawa Senators were officially put on the market.
The process began on Nov. 4, 2022, when the Ottawa Senators confirmed they have retained Galatioto Sports Partners and initiated a sales process for the franchise. Eugene Melnyk had owned the franchise since 2003.
"This was a necessary and prudent step to connect with those deeply interested parties who can show us what their vision is for the future of the team," said chairman and governor of the Senators, Sheldon Plener, in a statement at the time. "A condition of any sale will be that the team remains in Ottawa."
While interest was high, the deadline for the first round of non-binding bids narrowed the amount left, which stood at a reported seven by the end of April. They included bids by Andlauer, Toronto billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos, Harlo Capital Group owners Jeffery and Michael Kimel, Los Angeles-based filmmaker and entrepreneur Neko Sparks, Toronto-based real estate developer Remington Group in partnership with Canadian actor-entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds, The Hockey News' owner and publisher W. Graeme Roustan, and Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive.
Besides Reynolds, other celebrity figures joined bids as well. On May 1, rap and hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg announced he would be joining the Neko Sparks bid and was also joined by Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey and Canadian comedian Russell Peters later in the month. The Kimel group also teamed up with Canadian talent, partnering with Scarborough recording artist Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd.
When the May 15 deadline hit for final binding bids to be submitted for the franchise, four bids were reportedly submitted. These included bids by Andlauer, the Kimel group, the Sparks group and Apostolopoulos. The expectation was that the bids would come in anywhere between $800 million and $1 billion. Since that deadline, Steve Warne of TheHockeyNews.com/Ottawa reported Andlauer's group was the front-runner to win the bid for the Senators.
The bids for the Sens nearing the billion-dollar mark should come as little surprise. Recently in April 2022, American businessman and former governor of Tennessee Bill Haslam joined the Nashville Predators; ownership group and is scheduled to buy out Herbert Fritch's 60-percent stake in the team by July 1, 2025. Forbes reported the multi-phased deal to be worth about $880 million. Even before that, in December 2021, the Pittsburgh Penguins were sold to Fenway Sports Group in a deal that was reported by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun to be around $900 million.
With Andlauer's experience in hockey, we'll now wait to see what plans he has in store for the hockey operations side of the franchise. Pierre Dorion is currently still the GM and D.J. Smith is still the coach, but that can all change with a new owner.
Either way, we're now approaching a new chapter of the Ottawa Senators, which will develop in the months to come.
Anthony Fava also contributed to this report.