Montreal (AFP)

Placed under the protection of the courts against bankruptcy, the Canadian troop of Cirque du Soleil announced Thursday to have accepted an offer to buy from its creditors, which will serve as a starting point for its auction in August.

This purchase agreement concluded with the creditors provides that the latter would acquire "almost all the assets" of the company, said in a press release the entertainment company.

The agreement replaces the purchase offer that the Montreal-based circus concluded at the end of June with its current shareholders, the American funds TPG and Chinese Fosun, as well as the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec.

Born in Quebec in 1984, the troupe of acrobats had to cancel 44 productions in the four corners of the world in March and lay off 4,679 acrobats and technicians, 95% of its employees. The majority of them were dismissed in late June when the group asked for court protection.

The Quebec Superior Court, which oversees the restructuring of Quebec's cultural flagship, will be called to approve the new offer at a hearing on Friday.

According to the daily Globe and Mail, the agreement provides that creditors will inject US $ 300 to 375 million into the circus. The latter would also agree to reduce the circus' guaranteed debt from US $ 1.1 billion to $ 300 million. Finally, the maintenance of the group's head office in Montreal would be guaranteed for at least the next five years.

The previous shareholder purchase offer has been terminated. It was disputed by the creditors, because it provided that the latter would recover only a fraction of the sum that the circus owes them.

"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Cirque du Soleil," said Gabriel de Alba, managing director of the Canadian fund Catalyst Capital Group, the largest creditor.

"The cooperation of the group of creditors has been extraordinary in achieving our goal of recapitalizing and revitalizing the circus," he said.

Other investors plan to bid higher to acquire the circus by August 18, the deadline for submitting an offer.

Among them are notably its founder, the former fire eater Guy Laliberté, who sold it in 2015, as well as the Quebec media empire Quebecor.

© 2020 AFP