Source: Montreal brothers head up partnership doing its due diligence on Als

Two Montreal brothers are heading up a partnership that’s looking into purchasing the city’s CFL club.

A league source said Monday that Montreal natives Peter and Jeffrey Lenkov head up a partnership that’s currently doing its due diligence on Alouettes. Peter Lenkov, 55, is a producer in Hollywood while Jeff Lenkov, 53, is a lawyer practising in California.

The source was granted anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the deal.

The Lenkovs both attended university in Montreal. Peter Lenkov studied film at Concordia University while Jeffrey attended McGill before heading to law school at Northern Illinois.

American businessman Robert Wetenhall sold the Alouettes to the CFL on May 31. Wetenhall and his son Andrew, a co-owner and the team’s former lead governor, had been seeking a new owner for the franchise for several months before the move.

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Upon taking over the Als, the CFL said that process would continue.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie wouldn’t shed any light on whether the league was talking with the Lenkovs or the state of talks with the Montreal brothers.

“From the outset of this process, we have assured potential buyers of the Alouettes that we would do our part to keep their identities confidential,” he said in a statement. “We continue to maintain that commitment and intend to do so until we can announce an exciting, new chapter for the club.”

The Alouettes parted ways with head coach Mike Sherman on Saturday. Offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones was promoted to the head-coaching post on an interim basis less than a week before Friday’s regular season opener at Edmonton.

Bob Wetenhall resurrected the Alouettes in 1997 after they were revoked from Michael Gelfand and declared bankruptcy. Wetenhall also assumed the organization’s debts despite not legally being obligated to do so.

Early in Wetenhall’s tenure, the Alouettes were a CFL powerhouse. From 1999 to 2012, they finished atop the East Division nine times and advanced to the Grey Cup on eight occasions, winning three.

But Montreal hasn’t been to the Grey Cup since winning it in 2010. The club has missed the CFL playoffs the past four seasons, amassing a dismal 21-51 record over that span.

Wetenhall was a former part-owner of the Boston Patriots (AFL) and New England Patriots (NFL). In 2011, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from McGill University for his work with the Alouettes and expansion of Percival Molson Stadium.

He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press