Saputo launches CF Montréal sale with local buyer preferred
Joey Saputo has formally put CF Montréal up for sale after more than three decades of family ownership, saying he prefers a Québec-based buyer but would consider a relocation offer if it aligned with Major League Soccer’s plans.
The Saputo family has appointed BMO Capital Markets as lead financial adviser and National Bank of Canada Capital Markets as co-adviser to identify buyers for CF Montréal and run the sale process in coordination with MLS.The announcement is the first formal confirmation of a sale process after reports in October that the family had sounded out local investors, with Québec real estate entrepreneur Luc Poirier expressing conditional interest without making an offer.Saputo said: “After more than three decades of commitment, we believe this is the appropriate time to begin the process of identifying new ownership for CF Montréal.“This Club has been a central part of our lives. We have dedicated significant time, energy and resources to building it, and we are proud of what CF Montréal has become.”The club said its priority was to give Québec-based investors with the resources to support its long-term development an opportunity to come forward, though Saputo said at a press conference that keeping the team in Montréal would depend on finding a buyer capable of building on the family’s work.He added: “If someone has the capacity to do it, and I feel that they have the capacity to do it, then I would love for this club to be here and stay here and continue to build on what we did.“But if there isn't, and there’s an offer that comes in to relocate the club and it's in line with Major League Soccer and what they want to do, then yeah, that's where it's going to be.”CF Montréal, formerly known as the Montréal Impact, joined MLS in 2012 and is one of three Canadian clubs in the league.Forbes ranked Montréal last in its 2026 MLS valuations at an estimated US$440 million, a figure separate from any asking price for the club.Saputo pointed to progress on the Olympic Stadium and Montréal’s bid for Canada Soccer’s National Training Centre as reasons to start the process now, and said the family would make a substantial investment in efforts to bring the centre to the city.He added: “If we were to secure it, the Centre would not only be the potential new home for CF Montréal, our academies, Soccer Québec and its regional associations, but could also play an important role in the development of soccer in the province and for the National Team.”The club said its management team and staff would remain in place during the sale process, with Gabriel Gervais, Luca Saputo and Simone Saputo continuing in their current roles.