Report: NHL's executive committee approves Andlauer to buy Senators
Published
The National Hockey League's executive committee has approved Michael Andlauer to buy the Ottawa Senators, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.
Garrioch reports that Andlauer met with the NHL's executive committee last week and was given the green light to go forward with his purchase of the franchise for $950 million (USD).
The executive committee is led by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy Bill Daly, along with owners Mark Chipman (Winnipeg), Geoff Molson (Montreal), Jeremy Jacobs (Boston), Craig Leipold (Minnesota), Ted Leonsis (Washington), Henry Samueli (Anaheim), Larry Tanenbaum (Toronto) and Jeff Vinik (Tampa Bay).
The sale will be complete when lawyers complete the paperwork and he will assume control of the Senators, the Canadian Tire Centre and the 75 acres the arena sits on in Kanata.
The 58-year-old Toronto billionaire, along with his group, won the bidding war for the Senators in June. Other parties in the group include Anna and Olivia Melnyk, daughters of former owner Eugene Melnyk, who have opted to retain a 10 per cent share in the franchise, local businessman Jeff York along with his 20+ group of local investors, the Malhotra family, Paul and Michael Paletta as well as Oshawa Generals owner Rocco Tullio is believed to be involved.
Andlauer is also the owner of the Ontario Hockey League's Brantford Bulldogs and sits as an alternate governor for the Montreal Canadiens. Postmedia reports he is hoping to complete a sale of his 10 per cent share in the Canadiens to Molson. The share will be placed in a trust if the sale doesn't come to fruition soon.