Cirque du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy

The French-Canadian acrobatics and circus business Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Team has filed for personal bankruptcy security as component of a “comprehensive plan” to restart its company.

The business cited the “immense disruption and forced clearly show closures as a final result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Cirque du Soleil mentioned it has entered into a stalking-horse agreement with its greatest investors, which includes TPG, Fosun, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, for $420 million. Investissement Québec is supplying financial debt.

The business temporarily suspended manufacturing of its demonstrates three months ago, and is terminating close to 3,480 staff who have been furloughed in March.

“For the past 36 many years, Cirque du Soleil has been a highly prosperous and successful group. However, with zero revenues since the forced closure of all of our demonstrates owing to COVID-19, management had to act decisively to shield the company’s upcoming,” mentioned Daniel Lamarre, president and main govt officer of the business.

Below the agreements, the company’s sponsors will include $three hundred million in liquidity, with Investissement Québec agreeing to give $two hundred million in financial debt funding to help a proposed acquisition. The $three hundred million in liquidity also incorporates $fifteen million for a fund to aid terminated staff and a $five million contractor fund to fork out artisans and freelancers.

The business reportedly has $1 billion in financial debt. Its restructuring program was currently being read Tuesday in the Remarkable Court docket of Quebec. Cirque would seek rapid provisional recognition in the United States underneath Chapter fifteen if that get was granted, the business mentioned.

Cirque mentioned its headquarters and ongoing functions in Quebec would keep on to be product criteria taken into account as component of its sale and investment decision solicitation system.

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Cirque du Soleil, COVID-19, restructuring