Minority equity interest enhances Bell's access to Canadiens content and marketing opportunities, including long-term naming rights to the Bell Centre

MONTREAL - Bell today confirmed its minority equity interest in the Molson family's bid to acquire the Montréal Canadiens Hockey Club and the Bell Centre, further strengthening Bell's long-standing relationship with the storied hockey franchise and offering enhanced marketing opportunities and preferred access to Canadiens content for Bell customers.

"Bell's relationship with the Montréal Canadiens spans many glorious decades and we are proud to be working with the Molson family as a partner in the team's bright future," said George Cope, President and CEO of Bell and BCE. "Montréal has been our home for 129 years, and the Bell team is delighted with this opportunity to support our community, the franchise that proudly wears its name, and the Bell customers here and across Canada who love hockey and the Habs."

On June 20, Montréal Canadiens owner George N. Gillett Jr and Geoff Molson announced that they had reached an agreement in principle for the sale of the Gillett family's interests in the Canadiens, the Bell Centre and Gillett Entertainment Group. Expected to close in late August, the transaction requires the approval of the Board of Governors of the National Hockey League.

Said Geoff Molson: "Like the Molson family, Bell has been part of the Montréal community for generations and shares our commitment to this great city and its famed hockey team. Bell is the ideal partner in our plan to preserve and build on the strong traditions of the Canadiens Hockey Club, and to bring the Stanley Cup back to Montréal."

Known as Project Rocket within Bell, the company's investment in the winning bid enhances its marketing and promotional relationship with the Canadiens, including long-term naming rights to the Bell Centre and preferred customer access to Canadiens content. Financial and other terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Bell has been headquartered in Montréal since the company's founding in 1880. Bell recently opened its new head office at Nuns' Island, the largest single-tenant real estate development in Montréal in a generation. More than 4,000 Bell team members work in the ultra-modern campus complex designed to comply with the international LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard for sustainable green building and development practices.