According to a source close to the Senators' bidding process, Michael Andlauer is in the lead spot right now.

The six-month-long process of selling the Ottawa Senators is finally nearing a conclusion and it would appear that one group is currently in the driver’s seat.

A source close to the bidding process is reporting that Michael Andlauer's bid is in the lead spot right now. His offer is believed to be well over $1 billion in Canadian funds. That would translate to an American dollar figure hovering close to the $800 million range.

Both the Andlauer group and the bid led by Jeff and Mike Kimel have serious existing NHL connections. The Kimel brothers used to have a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Penguins and Andlauer’s NHL roots run even deeper.

Andlauer joined the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs as a part-owner in 2002 and assumed majority control by 2004. The Bulldogs used to be the Montreal Canadiens' top farm club, which helped pave the way to Andlauer's future NHL ownership possibilities. 

In 2009, the lifelong Habs fan joined a partnership group headed by the Molson family and purchased a share of the Canadiens, the Bell Centre and Gillett Entertainment Group. Andlauer’s stake in the group today is said to be in the neighbourhood of 20% and he also serves as Montreal's alternate governor.

In 2015, Andlauer announced that he had sold the Bulldogs back to the Canadiens and announced he was buying the Belleville Bulls, with plans for a renaming and a move to Hamilton. The OHL team will move again this fall and become the Brantford Bulldogs for at least the next three seasons.

Andlauer is the founder and chief executive of Andlauer Healthcare Group and founder of Bulldog Capital Partners, a Toronto-based merchant bank.

According to Postmedia, there are four ownership groups who made bids at Monday's deadline and one will receive preferred bidder status fairly soon, possibly by month's end.