By getting his hands on a football team that is not profitable, businessman Pierre Karl Péladeau did not make an “economic” decision, but he was motivated by the “pride” aroused by the Montreal Alouettes. Montreal.
The sports team is in deficit. This is why Mr. Péladeau is acquiring the team personally and not through Quebecor, of which he controls 75% of the voting rights of shareholders, according to regulatory documents filed in March 2022.
As “fiduciary” of the interests of Quebecor shareholders, Mr. Péladeau judges that it would not have been “appropriate” for the company to acquire the Alouettes. “When we run the business, it’s not because we have such desires… We have a business plan and this business plan, we follow it. »
The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced on Friday that Mr. Péladeau was the buyer of the Montreal Alouettes. The news, which had been the subject of rumors in recent days, was confirmed during a press conference held at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
During the February conservatorship, league management announced that Mario Cecchini would assume the presidency on an interim basis, and manage the day-to-day operations of the organization’s affairs under the direction and supervision of the office of the league.
It is already clear that Cecchini’s role ends with the arrival on the scene of Péladeau since he has been named, in recent days, the next commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Promote the Alouettes
Mr. Péladeau says it’s still too early to reveal his game plan to replace the Alouettes. He assured that his commitment would be on a long-term horizon.
The businessman, however, intends to increase the notoriety of the team and its players. “I think we have all the necessary tools to get the Alouettes talking. So that we also feel that the Alouettes’ players are becoming even closer to Quebecers. »
He also mentions a possible role for Quebecor, whose media empire includes The Journal of Montreal and the general-interest channel TVA, as a partner of the Alouettes, without going into details.
It is still “premature” to talk about the role that the specialty channel TVA Sports could play in the broadcast of CFL games. Broadcast rights are held by rival Bell, which owns sports channel RDS, until 2025.
The future of TVA Sports, which is not profitable, remains uncertain. In February, Mr. Péladeau said in an interview on 98.5 FM that certain factors “do not militate in the perspective of a success for TVA Sports”. Quebecor considers that Bell pays insufficient royalties for the broadcasting of TVA Sports.
Purchasing in telecommunications
The management of Quebecor, which is Videotron’s parent company, also has other fish to fry than straightening out a professional sports team. The telecommunications company wants to expand its activities outside of Quebec. “We don’t want the Alouettes to become a distraction for our teams,” explains Mr. Péladeau.
Quebecor has agreed to buy wireless phone service provider Freedom for $2.85 billion as part of Shaw’s sale to Rogers. The agreement has not yet been finalized, as it is still awaiting the approval of the federal Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, who must sign the transfer of the wireless spectrum licenses from Shaw to Videotron.
“We must not forget that there are two, three fairly important cases, thank you, on which we are working at Quebecor to ensure that we become the fourth national operator. This is no small task. It’s a $3 billion transaction. »