Insolvent and for sale | Three Quebec options for Just for Laughs

A tandem formed by Cirque du Soleil and KOTV, ComediHa! as well as Groupe Entourage are the three Quebec options on the table to acquire the Just for Laughs Group (JPR), we have learned The Press. Two other contenders established outside the province also covet the comedy giant.

These three Quebec groups did not want to comment on Tuesday on the information from The Press collected from several sources close to the case. As the May 6 deadline approaches, they are busy refining their respective final offers in the hope of getting their hands on the insolvent company.

Responsible for the sales process under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (LACC), controller Christian Bourque, of the PwC firm, reiterated, during an exchange on Tuesday, that he could not disclose the identity of the finalists.

Due to the limited number of potential buyers, Mr. Bourque had however reported to the Superior Court of Quebec, which supervises the process, that names risked being revealed.

“It’s a small environment, I think people know that,” the controller said Monday before Judge David R. Collier. There may be a little gossip. We did not disclose it [le nom des finalistes]. The scope of serious buyers is not that huge. »

Tax Alliance

Cirque du Soleil has decided to get involved by teaming up with KOTV. We are talking about a partnership in which the company led by Louis Morissette would take care of the shows and festivals aspect, while the circus giant would inherit the TV shows, including the famous Gags.

As was the case with Bell, Groupe CH and the American firm Creative Artists Agency, the strategy of this tandem is to ensure that the company owning the Montreal high mass of humor is from Quebec – in order to benefit tax credits from the Quebec government.

Coming from a comedy background, Mr. Morissette graduated from the National School of Humor (1996) and was one of the founding members of Les Mecs musicales (with Alex Perron and Jean-François Baril). He was the main author and artistic director of Bye in 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2011, in addition to playing roles in the shows from 2011 to 2015.

Cirque du Soleil is controlled by the Canadian firm Catalyst Capital and other American firms specializing in credit and debt strategies.

Quebecor, indirectly

ComediHa!, which has counted Quebecor among its minority shareholders since 2018, as well as the Entourage Group, which has partnered with an international player in this matter, have similarities with JPR. These two companies already have well-established expertise in show production, television production and distribution.

Rooted in Quebec, ComediHa! had resumed production of the musical Waitress, initially produced by JPR, in the wake of its financial debacle. The company is also behind the comedy festival in Quebec, ComediHa! Fest-Quebec. For his part, the president of the Entourage Group, Eric Young, worked at JPR at the turn of the 2000s, before setting up his own company.

At the time of writing, it had not been possible to determine the identity of the two other groups emanating from outside Quebec.

According to the timetable of the most recent PwC report, the controller should have chosen the winner on May 10. Since the deadline is fast approaching, JPR has just contacted the Quebec government in the hope of continuing to benefit from its financial support.

“An upcoming relaunch of activities is therefore very possible, without forgetting that it could be possible to hold an event [festival d’humour] this summer, but above all restart complete operations in order to come back very strong in 2025,” writes the executive president and chief financial officer of JPR, Alain Boucher.

The Press was able to consult the missive, which reminds the Legault government of the importance of its “support” for the “relaunch of the largest humor festival in the world”. In 2023, the humorous high mass obtained a subsidy of 1.8 million from Quebec as well as a similar sum from the Trudeau government.

When it took shelter from its creditors on March 5, JPR had secured and unsecured debts of around 50 million. The National Bank was the main guaranteed lender (17 million) of the humor specialist.

Read “Dismantling ruled out”