Michael Andlauer reaches deal to buy Ottawa Senators

After a star-studded and protracted bidding war, Michael Andlauer has signed a binding agreement to buy the Ottawa Senators, Sportsnet can confirm.

Andlauer is a part-owner of the Montreal Canadiens and the owner of the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs.

Four groups remained in the running last week before Toronto billionare Steve Apostolopoulos’ group dropped out.

That left groups led by Andlauer, Toronto-based brothers Jeffrey and Michael Kimel and Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Neko Sparks in the mix.

The bid from the Kimel family reportedly included multi-platinum Canadian recording artist The Weeknd, who performed at the 2021 Super Bowl.

Sparks had assembled a group of investors that included everyone from hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg and former Olympic sprinter Donovan Bailey, to Canadian comedian Russell Peters and the cast of CBC show “Dragons’ Den.”

Andlauer has a history of hockey ownership that spans three levels of the game.

He was part of a group — led by the Molson family — that purchased the Canadiens in 2009. Before that, he was sole owner of an American Hockey League club based out of Hamilton for 11 years before selling it to the Canadiens in 2015. He then purchased the Ontario Hockey League’s Belleville franchise and moved it to the Steel City. Both teams were called the Hamilton Bulldogs. The OHL team recently was relocated to Brantford for the 2023-24 season.

According to his company bio, the 57-year-old Andlauer’s business background is in transportation and logistics, with a focus on the healthcare sector (Andlauer Healthcare Group Inc.). He also founded Bulldog Capital Partners, a Toronto-based merchant bank.

Andlauer lists himself as an alternate governor for the Canadiens.

After Senators owner Eugene Melnyk died in 2022, his two daughters, Anna and Olivia, took control of the team. The franchise was put up for sale later in the year.

The quest to find a new owner for the club gained unexpected attention in November 2022 after actor Ryan Reynolds expressed interest in an ownership stake. He later joined Remington Group in January, which put together a bid exceeding $1 billion, but decided not to move forward with its offer in May, ahead of the deadline for final bids. Eventually, just four bidders were left.

The Senators have a memorandum of understanding to build a rink at the central LeBreton Flats site, which is located on the southern shore of the Ottawa River, adjacent to the Canadian War Museum and within walking distance of Parliament Hill and the city core.

The team currently plays at the Canadian Tire Centre, 22 kilometres outside of Ottawa’s downtown, in the suburb of Kanata.