The Senators’ highest bid came in Ottawa

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The sale of the Ottawa Senators has taken another stunning turn with only two serious bidders left, Postmedia has learned.

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Toronto billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos, who had a fully funded bid valued at more than US$1 billion, told officials from Melnyk’s estate, the NHL and New York banker Galatioto Sports Partners (GSP) that he was no longer involved in the process.

Apostolopoulos, who was seen as a frontrunner because it bid the highest percentage, is the second bidder to walk away from the sale in frustration as sources say he felt negotiations with representatives took too long. Melnyk and GSP owned it.

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It is believed that Apostolopoulos felt the process was taking too long and that it was hard to see the end in sight of the deal. It is possible that GSP or the estate will try to lure him back in, although that seems extremely unlikely at this point.

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Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds and Remington of Markham left the band last month when the estate and GSP rejected a request that the band be given 30 days to negotiate a deal with the National Capital Commission and the City of Ottawa for a new deal. Arena.

As this document was first reported on the May 15 deadline for binding bids, Apostolopoulos, along with Toronto businessmen Michael Andlauer, Jeffrey and Michael Kimmel of Harlow Capital, and Los Angeles-based producer Nico Sparks, have submitted bids to buy the Senators. .

Sources say Sparks’ bid is underfunded and unlikely to win. This means that neither Andlauer nor Kimels will be the ones to control that franchise and neither group has made a $1 billion bid for the Senate.

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A league source told the newspaper that the new Andalaur puts Andalaur in the front row as the Kimmel family continues to compete and push for a deal to buy the Senators.

The source confirmed that the sale continues despite the departure and that the senators will end up with a “strong owner”.

Those close to Andalusia say he really wants senators and is said to be considering adding new investors to bring in more money. Its bid is estimated at about $900 million.

Andlauer is a co-owner of the Montreal Canadiens, is a member of the NHL Board of Governors and is a draw for the league’s headquarters. But if he doesn’t get his bid where he needs to be, he’ll finish second in that race.

Toronto billionaire Jimmy Salter joined the Kimels show and they presented a new number to GSP for the weekend. Kimel’s bid is believed to be in the region of $950 million, while Andlauer is also in that region.

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“The Kimmel family wants this team so bad,” a source said.

Bidders and Senators fans are frustrated by the length of time it is taking to finalize the deal. The club officially went up for sale on 7 November and is now in its fourth week since the introduction of fixed bids.

A complaint among the bidders relates to some of the requests made by Melnyk estate representatives at the end of this process.

The estate’s mission is to secure the best possible deal for the late Eugene Melnyk’s daughters, Anna and Olivia, but some of the demands that have been made at this point in the negotiations are troubling.

Bidders sometimes view negotiations as a “moving target”.