Date Closed

December 1, 2009

Lead Office

Montréal

On December 1, 2009, following the approval of the National Hockey League (NHL), the group led by Geoff, Andrew and Justin Molson completed the acquisition from the George N. Gillett, Jr. group and Molson Hockey Holdings Inc. of the Montréal Canadiens Hockey Club, the Bell Centre and the Gillett Entertainment Group.
 
The transaction is considered to be one of the most significant North American acquisitions in professional sports. The Montréal Canadiens Hockey Club is one of the oldest established NHL franchises and among the most successful clubs in North American sports history. The financial details of the acquisition were undisclosed.
 
The investment group led by the Molson brothers included Woodbridge, BCE/Bell, the QFL Solidarity Fund, Michael Andlauer, Luc Bertrand and National Bank Financial Group.
 
The acquisition was financed in part by National Bank Financial Group, which led a banking syndicate that included Desjardins Group and Scotia Bank. Investissement Québec also participated in the financing.

McCarthy Tétrault LLP represented Molson Hockey Holdings Inc., with a team that included Éric Gosselin, Philippe Fortier, Lorna J. Telfer, J. Robert Doyle, Gregory J. Winfield, Annie Gagnon-Larocque and Fraser Bourne.