GARRIOCH: The bidders for the Ottawa Senators hope to have an answer soon


Those involved in the sale of the Ottawa Senators remain hopeful they’ll have an answer by the end of the week.

Article content

The efforts by New York-based banker Galatioto Sports Partners and the estate of the late Eugene Melnyk to complete a sale of the Senators continue and the bidders hope the finish line is in sight.

Advertisement 2

Article content

While NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters in Las Vegas on Saturday he was “being advised by GSP that they expect a very good outcome in the next few weeks”, nobody involved in the process wants it to take nearly that long and remain hopeful they’ll have an answer by the end of the week.

Representatives of GSP and the Melnyk estate continued their discussions with the bidders Tuesday to try to get a deal in place to sell the Senators. If the price tag reaches, or eclipses, the $1 billion (all figures US) mark, then it would be the largest sale in National Hockey League history.

Article content

Timelines always have been difficult to predict since the team went up for sale Nov. 7, but sources with the bidders remained hopeful Tuesday they’ll know “in the next couple of days”, which group has signed an agreement in principle to purchase the Senators from the Melnyk estate.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

As Postmedia reported, it’s believed Toronto billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos, who had the highest bid at $1 billion, is in the driver’s seat with negotiations in the final stage.

He went down to the wire with a $6 billion bid to buy the National Football League’s Washington Commanders, but Apostolopoulos was ultimately outbid by Josh Harris, owner of the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association.

As this newspaper first reported at the May 15 deadline for binding bids, Apostolopoulos, along with Toronto businesspeople Michael Andlauer and Jeffrey and Michael Kimel of Harlo Capital, and Los Angeles-based producer Neko Sparks all submitted pitches to buy the Senators.

Advertisement 4

Article content

The bid by Andlauer is considered the most serious competitor to the one tabled by Apostolopoulos. Andlauer, 57, is a part-owner of the Montreal Canadiens and sits on the NHL’s board of governors.

Postmedia has reported this is a three-horse race between Apostolopoulos, Andlauer and the Kimel family.

Sources say Jeffrey and Michael Kimel, who added Toronto billionaire Jamie Salter to a bid that already included singer Abel Tesfaye (better known as The Weeknd), revised their offer on the weekend and remain in the hunt.

A report last Friday said the Kimels, the former minority owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins, had left the process, but Postmedia reported that wasn’t the case and, in fact, they’d added Salter, the CEO of New York-based Authentic Brands, to their bid.

Advertisement 5

Article content

The Kimels attempted to buy a majority share in the Penguins before the club was sold to the Fenway Sports Group in 2021.

While the Sparks bid hasn’t officially been eliminated, he has little chance of owning the team because of questions surrounding the funding the group has in place. We’re told representatives of Sparks were still reaching out looking for money as late as last Friday.

The hope was a deal would be in place by Wednesday.

That’s because that’s when the NHL owners’ executive committee meets in advance of the league’s board of governors meeting scheduled for later this month in New York and the hope was there would be an agreement in principle to have the Senators sold by now.

The executive committee includes Mark Chipman (Winnipeg), Murray Edwards (Calgary), Geoff Molson (Montreal), Larry Tanenbaum (Toronto) Jeremy Jacobs (Boston), Henry Samueli (Anaheim), Craig Leipold (Minnesota), Jeff Vinik (Tampa Bay) Rocky Wirtz (Chicago) and Ted Leonsis (Washington).

Advertisement 6

Article content

Once they have given the green light to the deal, it would then be up to Bettman to give the full meeting of the board of governors an update on the sale in New York on June 22, but it’s doubtful it would receive full approval then.

Sal Galatioto, the principal at GSP, and his group have been busy because the sale of the Senators isn’t all they’ve been handling.

The group helped broker a deal by Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies announced Tuesday to sell a 16.25 per cent share in the club to billionaire Stanley C. Middleman.

According to a report in Forbes Magazine, the Phillies are valued at $2.85 billion.

Bettman will give the governors an update on the sale, providing details of an agreement in principle if it’s done by then. The sale needs two-thirds approval of the board, but that won’t happen there.

The NHL will give the board as much detail as it can so that, when it comes time to vote, the governors are informed enough to rubber-stamp the decision after being updated on any changes that may have happened during closing.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/sungarrioch

Article content

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Join the Conversation

    Advertisement 1



Leave a comment

x
SMM Panel PDF Kitap indir