Cirque Du Soleil and a Handful of Heated Topics
The FTQ Fund could Lose $39.3 Million in the Cirque du Soleil Adventure
Nearly $ 40 million from the FTQ’s Solidarity Fund (The Solidarity Fund of the Federation of Quebec Workers) is at risk in Cirque du Soleil, which says it is considering bankruptcy after being weakened by its shareholders. TVA Nouvelles shares an ongoing discussion about the status of these funds and where Cirque is facing difficulties.
“The Cirque du Soleil Group is a Quebec flagship with strong international influence […]. We are investing in a world-class management team that has an ambitious growth plan,” said Janie BĂ©ique, vice-president of the FTQ Fund.
Meanwhile, TVA Nouvelles author Jean-François Cloutier claims they spoke to six as of yet unpaid Cirque du Soleil employees “one of whom claims as much as $ 17,000. ‘We have to pay taxes on the amounts and we haven’t even been paid yet,’ said another worker. ”
Read the Full Article in French at TVA Nouvelles
Should the Government Help Cirque du Soleil in Danger? | “It’s the Gun on the Temple”
98.5Â Montreal invited columnists Alexandre Taillefer and Luc Ferandez to a discussion on whether or not Cirque du Soleil, a company profiting from tax haven benefits, should receive financial assistance granted by Ottawa during the pandemic crisis. The article explains how even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has flimflammed on the question, first stating that the company would not be eligible for public funds, then walking that back in a press conference this past week. Radio Canada has chimed in with further details, interviewing the president of Quebecor, Pierre Karl PĂ©ladeau.
“When we talk about tax havens, it’s easy to fall into economic jovialism. […] Who should especially benefit from the support programs? The answer: the citizen. Then we have to help entrepreneurs, who have financial problems. Should we help Cirque du Soleil? Yes. What we need to do with companies like Cirque du Soleil is to save jobs (around 4,000 people worldwide, including 1,300 in Montreal). […] If we do not support this enterprise, Quebecers will drop expertise, workers and lenders, mostly from Quebec, ” stated columnist Alexandre Taillefer in the 98.5 Montreal article.
In the same article, Luc Fernande posited an entirely different opinion, stating, “It is not the government that must save a company that first favors its shareholders at the expense of its financial stability. The purchaser of Cirque du Soleil transferred the purchase price of the company to a loan that Cirque now has to carry. This performance obligation is enormous … Cirque has run out of money. Yet they have made hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. When the coronavirus crisis started, they didn’t have a dollar in cash. The money is in the shareholders’ pocket. It is true that there are jobs at stake. Now that all the employees have been temporarily laid off, we want to put the burden of the crisis on the shoulders of the state. What tires me is that this big company made its decision. Today they are lobbying the government to save their workers … It’s gun to the temple.”
Read the Full Article in French at 98.5 Montreal
Statement by Quebecor on Cirque du Soleil
MONTRÉAL, May 4, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ – The management of the Cirque du Soleil (the Cirque) has regrettably decided to make public the proposals it has received from Quebecor, which had been sent in confidence to the various stakeholders, including numerous ranks of creditors and shareholders. This move comes at a time when the Cirque faces considerable uncertainty. Indeed, the company itself has raised the possibility of initiating proceedings to place itself under the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (C-36). Under the circumstances, Quebecor has no choice but to publicly clarify its desire and determination to help save the Cirque, a creative powerhouse which is an economic engine for MontrĂ©al and all of QuĂ©bec, and an ambassador for QuĂ©bec talent on the international stage.
Like all Quebecers, we were surprised to learn of the extent of the Cirque’s difficulties. Though it was known before the current health crisis that the Cirque had problems, there was no reason to suspect they were so serious that the Cirque would be unable to pay its employees and artists, who are the sinews of the company and are now being left stranded. The fact that a business of this size did not have enough cash on hand to cover the essentials  is cause for concern, especially in view of the opinion issued by Moody’s, which downgraded the Cirque recently: “The company’s financial policy that favors shareholders has increased credit risk, which together with the recent deterioration in performance has resulted in a weaker financial profile.”
It was against this backdrop that Quebecor decided it wanted to help save the Cirque and would, as a first step, consider extending short-term financing of several tens of millions of dollars to cover payroll for thousands of employees and meet various obligations, such as the outstanding bills of suppliers who have not been paid for months.
In phase two, Quebecor would be prepared to inject several hundred million dollars to enable the Cirque to resume its activities and ensure its sustainability. To do so, however, we need access to a detailed analysis of Cirque’s financial position, which we have been unable to obtain to date because our attempts have been rebuffed by Cirque management.
We fail to understand the lack of urgency on the part of Cirque management. With every passing day, the company’s future is being dangerously compromised and its creative forces, which involve thousands of jobs, are suffering significant harm. The time to act is now, before legal proceedings are initiated under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (C-36). Such proceedings would result in a loss of control and could lead to an outcome that political authorities will regret. If the Cirque goes to the highest bidder, and no other considerations are taken into account, the presence of its head office in MontrĂ©al and the associated economic activity could disappear in the medium term, following many other QuĂ©bec companies that have suffered the same fate.
Quebecor wants to secure the future of the Cirque’s activities in MontrĂ©al and in QuĂ©bec, and we have all the assets and expertise required to do so. Quebecor is well capitalized and has the substantial financial resources required for the revival of the Cirque. Quebecor management will deploy all necessary means to close this sad episode, which is affecting the thousands of artists and cultural workers who are responsible for the Cirque’s success, and ultimately to restore the self-assurance, dynamism and enthusiasm that are part of the Cirque’s DNA.
The time to act is now, before it is too late.
Source: Quebecor Press Release
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With the eyes of the circus community already on Cirque Du Soleil‘s every move, what more is there to talk about? A lot, actually. Below, find a collection of news and discussions about Cirque’s financial and social positions in today’s quarantined world. Source articles in French.
Quebecor Eyeing Cirque Du Soleil
In an exposĂ© article by La Presse, author Richard Dufour claims “Canadian Communications Company, Quebecor, poses as a savior of Cirque du Soleil and has just indicated its interest in this direction. Cirque maintains, however, that Quebecor is also waging a campaign to harm its recovery, thereby benefiting from lower valuation to buy it.”
“Such illegal and abusive maneuvers are marked by obvious bad faith.” said Guy P. Martel, a lawyer at Cirque du Soleil.
The lawyer representing Cirque du Soleil apparently sent a formal notice to Quebecor, asking it to withdraw or correct information published this week on its media platforms. The document, which La Presse is said to have obtained, “criticizes the Journal de MontrĂ©al in particular for having published on Wednesday a text indicating that Cirque is controlled from a tax haven – which Cirque denies.”
“However, according to Cirque, this text is part of a campaign by Quebecor aimed at harming the company and its shareholders in the hope of obtaining an “unfair advantage”, considering that Quebecor has twice demonstrated last month its interest in Cirque du Soleil, which they would like to “acquire” by “undue advantage.””
Read the Full Article in French at La Presse