BUYING THE BIG TOP
Quebec creative success story, Cirque du Soleil, is closing sale to foreign investors, reports say
Cirque du Soleil’s global headquarters will remain in Montreal even as the entertainment company is being sold to American and Chinese investors, according to unconfirmed reports.
The company is close to completing a deal that could see TPG Capital and possibly Fosun Group acquire up to 90 per cent of Cirque, according to various media reports.
The deal could also involve Quebec pension fund manager, the Caisse de dépôt et placement, according to reports, with an announcement coming as soon as Monday.
Cirque founder and majority owner Guy Laliberté would retain a 10-percent stake, according to the reports. In a note to staff, he declined to confirm the rumours, CBC-Radio Canada reported Thursday.
Emotions are running high at the firm as employees sense one of Quebec’s creative success stories seems to be on the verge of change, said a former senior official with the firm, who asked not to be named.
“To be perfectly honest, there are a lot of discussions taking place at the moment,” Laliberté wrote in a short email to staff.
“However, and as I usually do, be sure that you will be the first informed if I conclude an agreement with new partners.”
TPG, a U.S. private equity firm, is the world’s largest casino owner with a stake in Caesar’s Entertainment, while Fosun, a major Chinese investment company, owns Club Med resorts.
“We are not making any comment on recent speculation,” a TPG spokesman, Owen Blicksilver, wrote in an email to the Star.
A Cirque spokeswoman, Renée-Claude Ménard, said the company would respond “if and when” it had something to report. The Caisse did not immediately return a request for an interview
A former senior official with the Caisse says he expects Cirque’s headquarters will remain in Montreal but that a second production centre could be opened in Shanghai, where Fosun is based.
Michel Nadeau pointed out that China has lots of circus expertise and Asia is a growing entertainment market.
Rumours have been circulating for several weeks that Laliberté, 55, is in talks with potential suitors. The former street performer turned billionaire owns 90 per cent of the internationally renowned Cirque, with the rest controlled by two investors in Dubai.
Laliberté announced last June that he was searching for a strategic partner.
The company has been seeking to reinvent itself since encountering financial troubles despite its enormous popular appeal and creative success.
In January 2013, the company announced 600 layoffs, after a disastrous 18-month period during which four major shows closed around the world, in Tokyo, Macau, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Earlier reports of a possible sale sparked concerns in Quebec political circles that it could mean the loss of Cirque’s Montreal headquarters, which employs 1,500 of the company’s 4,000 workers.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard appealed in late March to Laliberté to ensure any deal included a commitment to Montreal.
Cirque du Soleil shows have been seen by more than 155 million spectators in more than 300 cities in over 40 countries. With files from Star wire services