MONTREAL, March 23 (UPI) -- The owner of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens is considering selling the team and other assets, the French-language La Presse newspaper reported Monday.
Team President Pierre Boivin was quoted as saying owner George Gillett had hired BMO Capital Markets to explore his options with the 100-year-old team, its home Bell Center facility and his Gillett Entertainment Group, The Gazette newspaper reported.
"The process has been started but we're only at the beginning," Boivin said. "We're not hiding it; we're going through a very difficult economic period."
Gillett bought the team in 2001 for $181 million, but in October, Forbes magazine valued it at $334 million, the report said.
Gillett also owns an English soccer club in Liverpool and a NASCAR racing team, all of which are being studied by the analysts as well, Boivin said.
