Yahoo! was "presented recently with a proposal that
could have led to it acquiring control" of the Canadiens,
according to William Houston of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL.
But a meeting between "high-level" Yahoo! execs and a
"takeover group seeking an Internet partner" to buy the team
"resulted in a thumbs-down" from Yahoo! A source said,
"Yahoo felt that since it is not a subscription-based
company, owning one team might offend other sports teams and
restrict Yahoo's ability to do business with them as an
Internet portal." Houston adds that "another large U.S.
media company is believed to be assessing the worth" of the
Canadiens and "could make a bid." An agent "who would
broker the deal," said, "I have a party in the United States
who wants to buy the Canadiens. It's a huge
telecommunications company." Meanwhile, Molson VP/Corporate
Affairs John Paul Macdonald discussed the type of companies
that have "expressed interest" in the team: "It is a
mixture of certain high-net-worth individuals as well as
consortiums along the lines of (media conglomerates). We
are in the process of evaluating who we want to talk to and
who is serious enough to advance to the short list. We
expect by year end to have a deal closed." The "minimum"
price for the club and Molson Centre has "been pegged at
anywhere from" US$235-285M (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/25).
