Sources – Ryan Reynolds’ bid for Senators won’t move forward

Actor Ryan Reynolds’ application for the Ottawa Senators is not progressing, multiple sources close to the process told ESPN.

The NHL declined comment when ESPN reached them.

Reynolds was involved in a bid to acquire the NHL franchise led by real estate developer Remington Group. The proposed sale of the Senators, announced in November following the death of longtime owner Eugene Melnyk, has garnered significant interest and is developing into a celebrity bidding war.

According to the Ottawa Sun, Snoop Dogg announced he is part of a bid by Los Angeles-based businessman Neko Sparks, while The Weeknd is part of a bid by Toronto billionaires Jeffrey and Michael Kimel.

According to sources, Reynolds’ request for an exclusive window of opportunity to complete the deal was denied, resulting in Reynolds withdrawing from the process. The deadline for submitting final non-binding offers for interested groups is May 15th.

A recent Forbes valuation put the senators at $800 million. Sources say the Remington Group’s bid is worth more than $1 billion.

In December, Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed The league had met with Reynolds about his interest in becoming an NHL owner.

“[Reynolds] “It really impressed us,” Bettman said at NHL Board of Governors meetings. “If we find a way to get him involved, I think that would be great for the Senators and great for the league.” … He’s very smart, he’s got a number of other businesses besides acting, and he understands sports and Advertising. I think he told us he has well over 100 million followers across all his platforms combined.”

Reynolds, who grew up in Canada, confirmed his interest in appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in November.

“I’m trying to [buy the team]; It’s very expensive, so I need a partner with really big pockets,” Reynolds told Fallon. “It’s called a consortium when you form a group to buy a company, and it’s such a fancy way of saying, ‘I need a candy mama.’ or a sugar daddy’, and if that doesn’t happen, I’ll buy a US Senator that anyone can afford.”

Reynolds became co-owner of fifth-tier English football club Wrexham AFC with actor Rob McElhenney — an endeavor the pair document in a Hulu documentary that has helped the club thrive both on and off the field.

Last month, Wrexham secured promotion to the Football League after a 15-year absence.