June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Quebec’s Molson family has made a bid for the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens, seeking to regain control of the 24-time Stanley Cup champions.

Geoff Molson, a 38-year-old director of the Canadiens and Molson Coors Brewing Co., is leading the investor group, which also includes brothers Andrew and Justin.

The family said in a statement that they made an offer today to Canadiens owner George Gillett for the team, the Gillett Entertainment Group and the Bell Centre in Montreal.

“We have assembled a very solid and credible group of investors and financial institutions as part of our offer,” Geoff Molson said in the statement. “We think our offer has all the ingredients to be well received by the potential seller and the National Hockey League.”

Molson said he looks forward to meeting with Gillett, though he declined to comment further on the offer, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Quebecor Media Inc. also filed a separate bid today to buy the Canadiens and their properties. Terms weren’t disclosed by Quebecor in a statement.

“The Montreal Canadiens hockey team is unquestionably one of the most prestigious and iconic sports franchises in the world,” Quebecor President and Chief Executive Pierre Karl said in the statement. “The team has been part and parcel of our history for a hundred years. We therefore regard this as a golden opportunity for a Quebec group to return this grand institution to local ownership.”

Gillett bought the Canadiens from brewer Molson Inc. in 2001. Molson Coors currently owns about 20 percent of the Canadiens, who had a 41-30-11 record this season and were swept by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 10, 2009 20:23 EDT