Cirque du Soleil and Secured Creditors Near Rival Bid for Troupe

Entertainment

July 10th, 6:27pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

Artists perform during a dress rehearsal for Quidam, a show by Cirque du Soleil, at the Royal Albert Hall in London January 4, 2014. (Reuters)

Cirque du Soleil and its secured creditors are close to reaching a agreement on a second stalking horse bid for the financially strapped entertainment group, after lenders opposed a deal with shareholders including TPG Capital and Fosun International, a Canadian court heard on Friday. Canada’s once high-flying Cirque has received protection from creditors as it restructures after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to cancel shows and lay off artists. The Montreal-based entertainment company filed for bankruptcy in late June. Details about the rival bid by secured creditors, which sets the low-end bar for buying the company’s remaining assets, were not disclosed by the parties involved in the dial-in hearing on Friday. Details are expected to be presented in court next week pending approval from the Cirque board. Lenders had previously dismissed a stalking horse bid from a group of investors, including private equity firm TPG, and Fosun, a Canadian pension fund and a Quebec government body as inadequate. The lenders would end up getting a 40% stake in the restructured Cirque, under the TPG consortium’s proposal. Any stalking horse bid would require court approval. Cirque had almost $1.5 billion in liabilities as of December 2019.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2382296/cirque-du-soleil-and-secured-creditors-near-rival-bid-troupe