“Bids are expected to fetch more than $800 million and could even hit $1 billion, making it the highest price ever paid for an NHL franchise. Final bids are due on May 15.”
Indian American Vivek Ranadive, the owner of North American professional basketball league (NBA) franchise, has become one of the seven finalists to bid for the (NHL) franchise Ottawa Senators, according to several sports news outlets in the US. NHL is a professional ice hockey league in North America, a report in ToI mentioned.
According to sources, bids are expected to fetch more than $800 million and could even hit $1 billion, making it the highest price ever paid for an NHL franchise. Final bids are due on May 15.
The Remington Group — which includes Canadian actor and Wrexham AFC co-owner Ryan Reynolds — is reportedly also among the finalists for Senators.
A stipulation for a potential Senators sale is that the team remains in Ottawa in Canada. The team was put up for sale following the death of owner Eugene Melnyk in March 2022.
Canada’s Ottawa Sun newspaper has also named Ottawa-based Indian Canadian Neil Malhotra, an urban planner and developer who oversees retirement home operator Claridge Homes, among others, as a potential bidder for Senators.
Ranadive is the first Indian American to own an NBA franchise and the founder of Silicon Valley based IT company TIBCO Software.
“But things are changing. I see a great deal of interest in sports among young Indian Americans. Basketball is a global sport and anyone – no matter where you are from or what language you speak – can participate. I am honoured to be considered a pioneer in this community and I hope my experience inspires other people of Indian origin to become involved in the game.”
— Ranadive to a reporter in 2019
He had bought Sacramento Kings in 2013 along with a group of investors, for $534 million, a record for an NBA team sale at the time after selling his share in Golden State Warriors — another NBA team, of which he was the co-owner and vice chairman since 2010.
The Kings is now reportedly worth more than $2 billion. Ranadivé also holds a majority stake in the Sacramento River Cats, a minor league baseball team.
While Indian Americans have been successful entrepreneurs in the IT sector in the US, Ranadive was the first and only person of Indian origin to take a leadership role as a sports entrepreneur.
“But things are changing. I see a great deal of interest in sports among young Indian Americans. Basketball is a global sport and anyone – no matter where you are from or what language you speak – can participate. I am honoured to be considered a pioneer in this community and I hope my experience inspires other people of Indian origin to become involved in the game,” Ranadive had told a reporter in an exclusive interview in 2019.
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