On Thursday night, LaPresse reporter Richard Dufour broke the news that the CFL have reached an agreement with the new owner of the Montreal Alouettes. The announcement of the new Alouettes’ owner will happen on Friday morning at Olympic Stadium.
It’s been a roller coaster ride for the Alouettes since the CFL took ownership last month from S and S Sportsco. S and S Sportsco, a corporate entity owned by Spiegel and his son-in-law Gary Stern, purchased the Alouettes in January 2020. Unfortunately, Spiegel passed away in July of 2021 and left a 75 percent stake in the franchise under the control of two anonymous lawyers. The lawyers elected to stop funding operations.
This will be the Alouettes’ second owner in three seasons after long-time owner Robert Wetenhall surrendered the franchise back in May of 2019. During Wetenhall’s ownership, the Alouettes appeared in eight Grey Cup championship games in a span of 14 years, winning three of them in 2002, 2009, and 2010. Wetenhall died in September 2021.
The person connected to purchasing the Alouettes in recent weeks is Quebecor Inc. President and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. Quebecor is a Montreal-based media and telecommunications company that operates assets such as Videotron, Groupe TVA, Le Journal de Montreal, and Le Journal de Quebec.
In addition, the company’s sports and entertainment division currently owns and operates the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Karl Péladeau, a 61-year-old from Montreal, Quebec, is a prominent businessman and former politician serving as the leader of the separatist Parti Québécois. His estimated net worth is $1.9 billion in USD.
Recently, the Alouettes lost Interim team president Mario Cecchini, who was named the new QMJHL Commissioner on Tuesday. Cecchini, along with the league’s investment banking partner Park Lane, helped the Alouettes search for a new owner.
