(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

With 50 percent ownership in Liverpool hanging over his head, and banks to appease with substantial loan repayments, it's being reported George Gillett has been offered around $550 million for the shares in his ice hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens.

The deal is said to include Gillett's 80.1 percent stake in the Canadiens and their home stadium, the Bell Centre.

The new owners will be Hartland Molson and the Molson family, who also own Canada's largest brewery. The sale will have to await the approval of the NHL governing body before the deal can be finalised.

"Our family has been very proud to be associated with the Montreal Canadiens over the past eight years and particularly to be a part of their Centennial season," Gillett said. "I am fully confident that the Molson brothers, who have been a great part of the heritage of the club, will ensure the preservation and development of this great sports institution."

The Liverpool co-owner put the Canadiens up for sale earlier this year to help re-finance the debts of KOP holdings limited and the loans taken out with RBS and Wachovia.

It is also claimed Tom Hicks is keen to offload some of his own sporting franchises in a bid to commit to the future of Liverpool Football Club.

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