If Quebecor was emerging as the preferred buyer for the Alouettes at the start of official and exclusive negotiations last month, Pierre Karl Péladeau would now be personally willing to buy the Montreal football club.
This is an avenue now being seriously considered, according to our information.
This decision would notably avoid repercussions on the profitability of Quebecor Media’s Sports and Entertainment sector, which includes the Quebec Remparts and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, two teams of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), as well as the management and operating activities of the Videotron Center in Quebec.
It would also possibly be easier, if necessary, to inject money into the club for the Quebec businessman if he became the owner of the team in his own name.
Pierre Karl Péladeau is CEO of Quebecor and also its controlling shareholder. Forbes estimates the personal fortune of the former leader of the Parti Québécois at 1.8 billion US.
The Alouettes lost several million in 2019. They also lost money in 2020 when there was no season that year due to the pandemic. The team also lost millions in 2021 while 2022 losses are valued at between 6 and 8 million.
The exclusivity of the negotiations for the purchase of the Alouettes was quickly granted to Quebecor shortly after the official sale of the team in mid-February by the Canadian Football League (CFL). The league commissioner had also indicated at that time that he had already initiated an “accelerated” process to sell the team to new owners.
The Montreal football team is looking for a new owner and has been under the supervision of the CFL since February 14. Mario Cecchini had since regained his post as president, although on an interim basis.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Alouettes have been under the tutelage of the Canadian Football League since February 14.
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in mid-February that the league had acquired the Alouettes from their former owners, Gary Stern and the estate of the late Sid Spiegel.
The Alouettes had been bought in 2020 by the two Ontario businessmen. The season was canceled that year due to the pandemic, and the death of Sid Spiegel the following year had created a void and uncertainty around the team’s future.
Management of the Alouettes’ sales process has been entrusted to Park Lane, a merchant bank in Santa Monica, Calif., which counts the CFL among its clients to whom it provides, among other things, consulting services.
Montreal conglomerate Quebecor, whose stock is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, owes most of its revenue to its subsidiary Videotron and holds a 65% stake in Groupe TVA.
It was not possible to obtain a reaction from Quebecor. Our messages went unanswered.