Ryan Reynolds has decided to align with The Remington Group in his bid to purchase the Ottawa Senators. As such, if they aren’t approved and deemed the next owners of the franchise, neither will Reynolds be. That said, the Hollywood star and savvy businessman didn’t hurt his odds when he sold Mint Mobile this week for a whopping $1.3 billion.
Reynolds, who owns a reported 25% of the company will get about $340 million in the deal. He should net about $100 million in cash. That’s clearly not enough to buy the Senators on his own (reports are that bids are starting at around $800 million), but his alignment with Remington Group and the attention he’s drawn to himself as part of that consortium only helps shine a light in their direction as his business smarts and ability to use his marketing efforts to create great profits are a huge plus.
As Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun points out, “The timing of Reynolds’ and his partners’ decision to sell their shares of Mint Mobile to wireless telephone giant T-Mobile in a massive deal that could be worth as much as $1.35 billion (all figures U.S.) was hardly a coincidence.” He adds that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been extremely supportive of Reynolds being part of the club’s new ownership group, and as New York-based banker Galatioto Sports Partners pours over the first round of bids, this process is about to heat up. Reynolds is making noise at exactly the right time.
Reynolds sat down for an interview with CNBC’s Mad Money with Jim Cramer Monday night and described his business philosophy. “Ultimately what we do, myself and my company, Maximum Effort really well is emotional investment.” He added, “When you create emotional investment, you not only create affinity, but you also create resilience for your brand that can help you through ups and downs.” That’s exactly what the Senators need as they help the NHL set a new baseline for what franchises are worth, but also have to prove that they are worth it.
The Senators haven’t exactly been the hottest ticket in town. They’ve been poorly run in the past, there were attendance issues and questions about the arena. Reynolds has already proven he can tell a story with his purchase of Wrexham AFC and they’ve had their best season to date with record sales.
Mint Mobile’s sale to T-Mobile wasn’t just a good business decision for Reynolds that saw him make a boatload of money. It was a great decision if he’s beyond serious about buying into the Ottawa Senators. The timing is right and he’s proving as he takes every step, he might be the guy to NHL needs and the Senators should want.
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