CELEBRITIES
Will Ryan Reynolds’ bid for the Ottawa Senators move forward?
The actor might not get what he was hoping for in his bid to buy the NHL franchise.
Though Canadian-born actor Ryan Reynolds has been used to getting what he wants in terms of major investments in recent years, his bid to acquire the Ottawa Senators may not be moving forward.
Reynolds denied exclusive buying window
The Wrexham co-owner requested an exclusive window of time to work out the details of the deal — but he was denied.
The brokerage firm of the Sens sale is Galatioto Sports Partners, who saw a number of bids flooding in, and decided it would not be necessary to offer Reynolds and co. an exclusive window.
The Sens deadline for interested buyers to submit “final nonbinding offers” still gives Reynolds a few days, as it lands on May 15, as per ESPN.
The going bid is $1 billion, while Forbes lists the team’s valuation at only $800 million. Despite the inflated price, Reynolds and the Canadian-based investment group he is affiliated with, Remington Group, were still willing to pull the trigger.
What are the conditions of the Sens sale?
The main thing the current Senators ownership and the NHL are concerned with pertaining to the deal is that the team will stay based in Ottawa, however the new buyers are allowed to change the location.
Reynolds had already planned to move the team to a new, downtown location.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed in December that Reynlds was interested in buying the team.
“[Reynolds] very much impressed us,” Bettman said at the time. “If we can figure out a way to have him included, I think that would be great for the Senators and great for the league. ...
“He’s very smart, he has a number of businesses besides the acting business, and he understands sports and he understands promotion. I think he told us his followers on all of his platforms combined was well over 100 million.”
Even prior to Bettman’s statement, Reynolds appeared on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’, where he expressed his interest in purchasing the team.
“I am trying to [buy the Ottawa Senators]; it’s very expensive, so I need a partner with really deep pockets,” Reynolds told Fallon in November.