Split in two?
JPR is for sale in its current form, but its face could change significantly. Alongside this scenario, the group could split into two. Brands, festivals, tours and everything related to television production – drawn largely from festival activities – would be grouped into one block. Everything that revolves around festivals helped generate revenues of 37 million in 2022, while the English-speaking touring niche generated revenues of 25.5 million, compared to around 11 million for the French-speaking component. ComediHa! has already got its hands on the rights to present the musical Waitress in Montreal and Quebec next summer.
A varied catalog
The different JPR catalogs were grouped together in another lot presented as being very profitable. This is where the popular show The Gags, broadcast in more than 150 countries, is free. “Distributable, high-performance and profitable broadcast,” praises PwC. Non-verbal, future-proof and universal: this show can be broadcast at any time of the day or night, every day, anywhere in the world. » The Gags would be particularly popular in Indonesia as well as in India, we learn. This issue is expected to generate annual revenues in excess of $4.5 million in the financial years 2025 to 2028, according to the presentation. Net liquidity is expected to be greater than 2 million for each of these financial years.
Hands raised
No less than 15 buyers have signed confidentiality agreements since the beginning of March to have access to JPR’s books, according to the most recent report from controller Christian Bourque. According to our information, Quebecor, shareholder of ComediHa! and who tried to get his hands on JPR in 2017, is part of this group. Suitors had until Tuesday (April 9) to submit their initial offers. It was not possible to know on Tuesday how many proposals had been received by the controller. “Multiple potential buyers or investors have already expressed interest in obtaining the solicitation documentation as soon as the launch of the process was announced,” wrote Mr. Bourque, in his report which revealed that PwC had contacted nearly 130 potential buyers .
Individual catalog
The JPR catalog could be sold individually. For example, The Gags could end up with a buyer, and another buyer could be interested in the rest of the catalog. This is content (TV and audio) captured during the festival – the comedy shows and musical events. However, these properties generate much less income compared to Gags. Although JPR’s catalog can be sold in pieces, the company “aims” to sell it in one piece, PwC specifies.
Brand still strong
Even though the group has accumulated losses of around 12 million in the five years since it was owned by Bell (26%), Groupe CH (25%) and Creative Artists Agency (49%), its brand still seems to have some traction. value. In 2022, it would amount to 20 million, underlines the presentation that The Press was able to consult. “The brand has a very high value in Quebec and French-speaking Europe,” it is written. It has been around for over 40 years and has almost 55 million followers across different social media platforms.
Finished the head office
When it took shelter from its creditors on March 5, JPR had secured debts of around 21.5 million. The National Bank was the main guaranteed lender (17 million) of the group. In order to recover money, the controller will sell the JPR head office, located in the city center of the metropolis, on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, at the corner of Sherbrooke Street. On the Montreal assessment roll, the value of the company’s property is close to 5 million. There is, however, no specified timeline as to when a transaction might close. Mr. Bourque’s report provides few details on this aspect.