The Montreal Canadiens and the Bell Centre are up for sale and 10 potential buyers have signed confidentiality agreements with the Bank of Montreal to get a look at the franchise's books.
The potential buyers include the province's pension-fund manager, the Caisse de depot et placement; Guy Laliberte, owner of Cirque du soleil; and Les Productions Feeling, which is run by Rene Angelil, husband and manager of pop superstar Celine Dion.
Others include the Claridge investment house; media giant Quebecor; Joey Saputo, owner of the Montreal Impact soccer team; Roustan Capital; the Molson family; Spectrum Equity; and the Aldo Group.
Potential buyers have been given until 5 p.m. on Thursday to make a bid, the network reported.
Former Montreal Canadiens general manager Serge Savard has also said he and a group of partners are prepared to buy the National Hockey League franchise if it is put up for sale.
Canadiens majority shareholder George Gillett is currently seeking advice from financial firms in Canada and elsewhere about how he might maximize his holdings, which also include parts of English soccer giant Liverpool, the Richard Petty Motorsports NASCAR team, and event promoter Gillett Entertainment Group.
