Quebec-based leisure group ComediHa! stated Tuesday it’s “entering a new era” because it confirmed it can purchase quite a few belongings from the financially troubled Just for Laughs comedy firm.
The firm stated {that a} choose has authorised its bid to amass the manufacturers Juste pour rire, Just For Laughs, Zoofest, ComedyPro, the Gags, in addition to the audiovisual catalogue.
“This asset acquisition will enable us to offer even more diverse entertainment experiences to our Quebec, Canadian and global audiences while supporting the growth and development of our artists and content around the world,” CEO Sylvain Parent-Bédard stated in a information launch.
“We are also becoming a strategic player for international artists who want to perform in Quebec and Canada.”
The announcement comes after Just for Laughs cancelled its Montreal and Toronto festivals this 12 months and sought creditor safety, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the altering leisure business for its monetary woes.
A court docket submitting earlier this 12 months from insolvency trustee PwC stated Groupe Juste pour rire booked a internet lack of greater than $7.9 million within the first 10 months of 2023.
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Court paperwork filed in March confirmed the corporate behind the comedy pageant owed practically $22.5 million to collectors. Other paperwork launched through the insolvency course of revealed an extra $5 million in unpaid money owed owed by the pageant and different affiliated companies.
ComediHa! introduced final week that it had reached an settlement to amass the belongings however that the deal needed to be authorised by Quebec Superior Court. That approval got here Monday.
ComediHa! says it plans to develop its presence in quite a few sectors together with festivals, dwell manufacturing, tv manufacturing, tour promotion, distribution, and content material monetization. The quantity of the transaction was not disclosed.
The firm will maintain the twenty fifth version of its ComediHa! Fest in Quebec City from Aug. 1-24, headlined by comedians Laurent Paquin, Martin Petit, Fabien Cloutier and Korine Côté.
Last month, it introduced it could additionally maintain a Montreal occasion, referred to as “ComediHa! salue Montréal” between July 18-28. The lineup for the $10-million Montreal occasion shall be introduced Wednesday.
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