Cirque du Soleil Downplays Reports it Could Be Sold

A spokesperson for the Cirque du Soleil is downplaying reports the Montreal-based circus could be sold.

According to a report in The Globe and Mail earlier this morning, bidders have been given until next week to submit offers for a controlling stake in Cirque du Soleil Group.

The circus troupe’s founder Guy Laliberte holds 90 percent of the private company he founded in 1984 – estimated to be worth $2 billion – and according to the daily Globe and Mail his stake would be reduced to only 10 percent in a sell-off.

“Last June, Guy Laliberte announced his intentions to find a strategic partner. That process is underway but is very long,” Cirque spokeswoman Renee-Claude Menard said in an email to AFP. “This is a very long process and [founder and majority shareholder] Guy Laliberté will take the time necessary to evaluate all available options,” Ménard said.

Laliberte originally wished to sell just a small piece of the firm that grew from a ragtag troupe of street performers to an entertainment giant presenting some 20 circus shows simultaneously around the world. But the Globe and Mail, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, said buyers pushed for control of the company.

Bidders include mostly foreign entertainment companies and private equity funds, the Globe and Mail said. Some suitors, including private equity firm BC Partners, have withdrawn their offers after looking over Cirque’s confidential financial documents, which reportedly point to dwindling profits.

The report sparked concern from Quebec politicians, including the province’s economy minister. Jacques Daoust said it’s crucial the company remain in Quebec. “It is important to keep it because it is one of our success stories, and I am very proud of the Cirque du Soleil,” Daoust said. Daoust said his government will wait to see what happens next before discussing whether it’s necessary for them to intervene.

The province’s pension fund manager — the Caisse de dépôt? — refused to comment on whether it could be a potential investor.

{ SOURCE: CBC.ca; TheJournal.ie | http://goo.gl/AQUCYC; http://goo.gl/ApaQfV }