(Henderson) The Ottawa Senators deal is almost — finally — signed, sealed and delivered.
A group led by Michael Andlauer agreed to buy the NHL club in June for an amount believed to be around US$1 billion.
The league then tackled a mountain of paperwork and the due diligence that comes with it. NHL executive vice-president Bill Daly said the process is almost complete.
“It’s almost done,” he said Tuesday during the media tour of NHL and NHLPA players in the suburbs of Las Vegas. I think all the major work has already been done. I expect the deal to be completed before training camp, if not early in training camp. »
The Senators were put up for sale last November, following the death of owner Eugene Melnyk.
Andlauer and his group are set to purchase 90% of the team from Melnyk’s daughters, who retain 10%.
The Senators haven’t made the playoffs since 2017, when they lost in seven games in the Eastern Conference final, but they have a young core led by captain Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Thomas Sculpin.
Daly said finalizing the sale was complicated because of the number of investors under Andlauer’s umbrella.
The group includes Jeff York, co-CEO of the Farm Boy grocery store, and the Malhotra family, owners of Claridge Homes, an Ottawa real estate development giant.
“A lot of people are involved,” Daly said. Financial due diligence and background checks on all of these partners need to be done. »
Andlauer is also the founder and CEO of Andlauer Healthcare Group, which owns healthcare supply chain companies. He is also the founder of the investment bank Bulldog Capital Partners, based in Toronto.
“There are last-minute issues that need to be resolved all the time,” Daly continued of the sales process. There is the question of negotiating the representations and warranties that are made, who is responsible for certain things. Every transaction is different, but I would put this in the “fairly complicated” category. »