The Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil has applied for judicial protection from creditors. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, she had to cancel all her performances and release the artist. The company will now work on a plan to revive its business, foreign news agencies reported on Monday. The famous circus has also performed several times in Prague.
The company canceled all performances since March and had to lay off 95 percent of its employees due to measures to prevent the spread of covid-19.
“With zero revenue from the forced closure of all our performances due to the covid-19, management had to act decisively to protect the company’s future,” said CEO Daniel Lamarre.
The company has signed an agreement with its private investors, according to which the group will take over the circus’s liabilities and invest USD 300 million (CZK 7.2 billion) in the resumption of operations. Under the agreement, the state-owned company Investissement Québec will also provide $ 200 million to finance the debt. Private investors include TPC Capital, the Chinese company Fosun International and the Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
The company has announced that it must lay off almost 3,500 employees. The offer from the sponsors allows her to hire a substantial portion of the released workers after the resumption of the performance.
Cirque du Soleil is famous for his acrobatic performances. The company was founded in 1984 by Guy Laliberté with street artists in Quebec and has since become one of Canada’s most famous export items. TPG, Fosun and the Canadian Pension Fund have owned a majority stake in the company since 2015.
Cirque du Soleil performs all over the world with acrobats and offered performances in Las Vegas every night. Most of the company’s income comes from ticket sales, but also organizes private events, sells retail goods with the theme of individual performances and licenses its brand to the accommodation and fashion industries. He also runs a joint venture with Bell Media, which is in charge of producing TV shows, movies and games.
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