A shared passion for the Montreal Canadiens is making for strange bedfellows in Quebec business circles, as a consortium made up of pop star Céline Dion, Seagram heir Stephen Bronfman and Quebecor Inc. boss Pierre Karl Péladeau is considering a joint bid for the storied NHL team, financial sources report.
As the Canadiens begin a first-round playoff series with the Boston Bruins as heavy underdogs, majority owner George Gillett is into the second round of bids for the team and arena he purchased nine years ago for $185-million (U.S.). One investment banker familiar with the process said potential buyers who made "initial expressions of interest" now have full access to financial data on the Canadiens and the Bell Centre.
"There is a group bid being discussed, and it's clear that Gillett is very willing to sell if the price is right," said the investment banker, who is helping line up financing for potential bidders.
However, the banker and other sources familiar with the possible sale of the team cautioned it will be difficult to strike a partnership that satisfies the strong personalities of Dion and husband René Angelil, Claridge Investments head Bronfman and Péladeau, the dominant player in Quebec media.
This trio of potential buyers is said to be contemplating a dedicated pay-TV channel in Quebec that would carry Habs games and other hockey-related content as one way to increase revenues from the team.
Several major-league sports teams have launched these networks, to mixed reviews from fans. Regular-season Canadiens games are currently shown in the province on RDS, an arm of CTVglobemedia (which also owns The Globe and Mail).
Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté dropped out of the bidding for the team last week, according to sources in the financial community.
One financial executive who knows Laliberté said: "Guy is extremely careful in his money and is not going to get caught up in an enterprise where he doesn't have full control of the purse strings."
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the provincial pension fund, is not expected to be an equity investor in the Canadiens, bank sources report. However, potential buyers are pitching the $120-billion pension fund for loans that would help finance the purchase, and are also trying to borrow from a number of major banks.
Gillett, 70, hired investment bank BMO Nesbitt Burns to weigh options for the Canadiens earlier this year, amidst a brutal economic downturn.
The NHL franchise, which has won 24 Stanley Cups, was recently valued at $335-million by Forbes magazine.
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