Molson Brewery
In the same year, Stavro repaid a $20 million loan that had been extended to Ballard in 1980 by Molson Brewery, which also owned the Leafs’ bitter rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. In return for repaying the loan, Stavro was granted an option to buy Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd.’s shares from Ballard’s estate, equal to 60% of the total outstanding shares of Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. In a separate transaction, Molson Brewery also agreed to sell its 20% stake in Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. to Stavro. The purchase from Molson Brewery closed in 1994, and shortly thereafter Stavro bought the Ballard estate’s shares for $34 a share, totalling $75 million. In the purchase from Ballard’s estate, Stavro partnered with the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Through this transaction, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan acquired 49% of the shares of Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. and balance of 51% was held by a holding company, MLG Holdings Limited (and that company was 80% owned by Stavro and 20% owned by TD Bank). The purchase was the subject to a review by the Ontario Securities Commission and a lawsuit from Ballard’s son, Bill Ballard, and in the end, the deal stood.