Canada’s Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group said on Tuesday it had emerged from bankruptcy, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the famed circus operator to cancel shows and lay off artists earlier this year, Reuters reported. The once high-flying Cirque, which grew from a troupe of street performers in the 1980s to a company with global reach, has slashed about 95% of its workforce and suspended shows due to the pandemic. It had filed for bankruptcy protection in June and reached a new purchase agreement with secured lenders shortly after.
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The massive policy response from the Bank of Canada and the federal government successfully prevented the country’s financial system from buckling, though vigilance is still needed, according to a top central banker, Bloomberg News reported. Signs of overwhelming financial strain are few, and the risk of a wave of consumer defaults seems low, Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle said in remarks via video conference to the Autorite des marches financiers.
The number of insolvency filings in Canada jumped in September to the highest since the pandemic began, in what may be the first sign of long-anticipated strains in household finances from the crisis, Bloomberg News reported. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada reported 7,658 consumer insolvency filings, up 18.5% from August. That’s the biggest monthly increase since 2017, and the most since March when widespread lockdowns were imposed to control the spread of Covid-19.
Global miner Rio Tinto is seeking court approval to sell its partner’s share of diamonds from a mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories, a filing this week showed, hoping to recover around C$120 million plus legal fees and other costs, Reuters reported. Rio owns 60% of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc (DDMI) and says it is owed C$119.5 million plus about C$2.4 million in fees by junior partner Dominion Diamond ULC. Dominion holds a 40% stake in the northern mine, located about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of the territorial capital of Yellowknife.
Canadian fashion retailer Le Chateau Inc said on Friday it had sought creditor protection and was preparing to liquidate its assets and wind down operations after taking a hit from the COVID-19 impact, Reuters reported. The 60-year-old chain, which sells occasion- and party-wear, saw its sales slump 72% in the second quarter ended July 25, as Canadians avoided venturing out due to fears of contracting the coronavirus. Apparel retailers across the globe have been facing mounting debt and bankruptcies as the virus outbreak wreaked havoc on the economy.
Beleaguered B.C.-based luxury cruise company One Ocean Expeditions will be allowed to restructure its business to avoid bankruptcy, a judge ruled Wednesday, CBC reported. The company's proposal, which includes providing creditors — some who paid tens of thousands of dollars for voyages that never happened — the option of using that money toward a future trip is "fair and reasonable" and in the best interest of stakeholders, B.C. Supreme Court justice Sandra Wilkinson said.
Canadians are experiencing the economic effects of COVID-19 very differently — and it largely depends on how vulnerable they were prior to the pandemic, a new poll suggests, Global News reported. The youngest people in the workforce — those in Generation Z — appear to be struggling the most, according to the poll, which was commissioned by insolvency firm MNP. Nearly 70 per cent are $200 or less away from insolvency, which includes 39 per cent who are already insolvent, meaning their financial resources aren’t enough to cover their current obligations.
It may be little surprise the pandemic has infected Canadians with more stress over debt, but a new survey offers the eye-openers that people fear the stigma of mental illness more than poverty and business failure, and young people are more afraid than their elders, the Financial Post reported. With Mental Illness Awareness Week being marked in Canada next week, almost three quarters of the 1,510 respondents polled Sept. 23-25 in the Angus Reid Forum by insolvency company Bromwich+Smith said mental illness carries the heaviest stigma.
Fosun International Ltd. is poised to lose its 20% stake in Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, the latest in a series of failed overseas deals for the Shanghai-based insurance, health care and tourism conglomerate, Bloomberg News reported. A consortium of Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil creditors is set to take control of the struggling circus operator, people familiar with the matter said. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in June as the Covid-19 pandemic slammed its distinctive global chain of musical, acrobatic shows.
Quebec’s pension fund said it spent $75 million in February to double its stake in Cirque du Soleil Entertainment, an investment it was forced to write off in June when the company filed for bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg News reported. Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec’s decision to buy an additional 10% of the live performance company from founder Guy Laliberte came after months of discussions with shareholders, Caisse Chief Executive Officer Charles Emond said Monday. The fund spent $71 million for its initial 10% stake in 2015, he told a panel of lawmakers in Quebec City.