Hit by the pandemic, the Cirque du Soleil tightrope

in Debt up to your neck, private performances for months because of the sars coronavirus, the Circus of the Sun is at the edge of the abyss, sparking an intense battle behind the scenes to save this cultural hub of canada.

read also : The province of Quebec flies to the rescue of the Cirque du Soleil

To avoid the bankruptcy to the group that he founded in Quebec in 1984 and then resold in 2015, the former fire-eater Guy Laliberté himself has hinted that he could put the hand in the pocket. "This recovery will rebuild at a fair price. And not at any price", however, has accused the former jester of 60 years, determined not to see his "baby" sold off to private groups.

"After careful reflection", the clown billionaire has chosen to launch into the recovery process, "surrounded by a great team", without further details. The pandemic has hit the world famous company that has conquered the planet with shows that are both poetic and colourful, and is the pride of Canadians.

overnight in march, the circus has had to cancel 44 productions around the world, from Las Vegas to Tel Aviv, passing through Lyon, Moscow or Melbourne. And implement technical unemployment 4679 acrobats and technicians, 95% of its employees.

read also : Circus of the Sun, Forbidden City on New Year... In China, the cultural life disrupted by the sars Coronavirus

Facing a collapse of its revenue and threatened bankruptcy, the giant global entertainment has commissioned the beginning of may a canadian bank to review its options, including its sale. In the meantime, its shareholders have provided financing of $ 50 million for its "liquidity needs in the short term".

First clown in space

First clown to stay on board the international space Station in 2009, Guy Laliberté, has ceded control of the circus for a billion us dollars in 2015.

This last fell into the pot of the private fund american TPG Capital, which now holds 55% of capital, compared to 25% for the chinese fund Fosun - owner of the Club Med and Thomas Cook - and 20% to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Manager of the "woollen stockings" of Quebec, CDPQ has bought in February, just before the pandemic, the remaining part of 10% of Guy Laliberté in the company. Since 2015, the circus was launched in expensive acquisitions and renovations of theatres permanent, while his creative mind is étiolait, according to critics of the quebec press.

Las Vegas via New York or China, the clashes have accumulated in its capitals yellow and white, leading to a debt of over a billion us dollars.

read also : Jewel of quebec, the Cirque du Soleil is for sale

Fearing that the circus "is on-sold to other foreign interests", the government of Québec comes to offering a loan conditional us $ 200 million (182 million euros) to the circus to revive its operations.

But this "agreement in principle" is conditioned to this that the seat of the circus is in Montreal and the province can redeem at the appropriate time entries american and chinese, "the market value", and with "probably a partner," the local, " said Pierre Fitzgibbon, québec minister of the Economy.

"Maneuvers to be disturbing"

"The State does not want to operate the circus, but the circus is too important to Quebec (to the) left to foreigners," he said. In addition to Guy Laliberté, local buyers are on the ranks, including Quebecor, the giant telecoms and media magnate Pierre Karl Péladeau, who has denounced "manoeuvres to be disturbing" of the circus for having made public its proposals. "It is essentially the value and the reputation of the brand as such, the branding, which motivate potential buyers, writes Michel Magnan, Concordia university in Montreal.

But "as long as there are restrictions to the grouping of people, the future is not very rosy," for the circus. A number of challenges in the years ahead, according to him: "all these shows, there were people behind it," he says. "The more time passes, the more this expertise is likely to evaporate, and (...) these assets become intangible".

small consolation, the circus resumed Wednesday its representations in Hangzhou, China, five months after their report in this city some 700 km east of Wuhan, where the virus made its appearance at the end of the year 2019.

The editorial team conseilleGuy Laliberté plans to buy back the Cirque du Soleil, he has fondéUn acrobat with Cirque du soleil died on stage in FlorideLe Circus of the Sun passed into the hands of fund investissementAucun commentaireMake France great againle 05/06/2020 at 10:40 am

Be a hard tightrope should not be a problem for acrobats !

What all the world pensele 05/06/2020 10:36

Their life is hanging by a thread.

Desgarilsle 05/06/2020 10:30

numbers basically conventional, packaged pretentious and true to the ideas caricature of the time. Not a big loss

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