Sale of Habs to Molson brothers approved

The sale of the Montreal Canadiens was approved Tuesday, days before the storied team's 100th anniversary.

The Molson family won approval from the NHL board of governors, becoming the fourth group of Molsons to own the club since the 1950s. George Gillett put the team up for sale in the spring.

Geoff Molson and brothers Andrew and Justin are the lead investors in a group that reportedly paid $575 million for the franchise.

"This is a proud moment for my family and our partners in the transaction," said Geoff Molson, who will be the chairman and chief executive officer. "As owners, we will be right there with management and the team, building and battling toward our next Stanley Cup."

The Canadiens celebrate their 100th anniversary Friday when they host the Boston Bruins.

The sale includes the team, the arena and Gillett Entertainment Group, a concert promotion company. The Molson group also bought the 19.9 percent held by the Molson-Coors brewery, which will remain a sponsor.

When the Molson company put the team up for sale eight years ago, no local buyer was willing to risk what was deemed a steep price for a team that paid most of its expenses in U.S. dollars but took in what were then weak Canadian dollars at the gate.

The ownership group includes Bell, Canada's largest communications company, and the Woodbridge Company, owned by the Thomson family, which controls Thompson Reuters. Both have large stakes in CTVglobemedia (Bell 15 percent, Woodbridge 40 percent), whose television holdings include TSN and its French-language cousin RDS, which broadcasts Canadiens games.

Others in the group are the Quebec Labour Federation solidarity fund; Michael Andlauer, a French-born, Montreal-raised businessman who owns the Canadiens top farm team the Hamilton Bulldogs; and Luc Bertrand, former head of the Montreal Stock Exchange. Two-thirds of the partnership is based in Quebec.

The National Bank Financial Group is a participant and is leading the banking syndicate, which includes the Desjardins Group and Scotiabank.