Cirque Du Soleil, What do a Greek jeweler, a French resort chain and now a circus troupe that blends theater with acrobatics have in common? The answer — they are all companies China’s Fosun International Ltd0656.HK +1.55% has bought a stake in with the aim of bringing them back to the country’s aspirational and spendthrift affluent.On Monday, Canadian circus firm Cirque du Soleil said it has sold a majority stake in itself to a consortium led by private equity firm
TPG and that included Fosun. Cirque du Soleil’s founder Guy Laliberte will maintain a stake in the firm, but the exact breakdown of how much each buyer, including two Quebec-based investors, will take, wasn’t laid out. In a statement, Cirque du Soleil President Daniel Lamarre said “Fosun’s expertise in China and the Caisse’s homegrown financial strength are a powerful combination that will fuel new growth in our business.”
In its filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Tuesday confirming the addition of the circus troupe to its growing repertoire of what it called the “happy lifestyle area”, Fosun said its purchase is the latest example of it “combining China’s growth momentum with global resources.” Fosun said that the consortium has committed to keeping Montreal the troupe’s “decision-making and creative base” and would also keep Cirque du Soleil’s headquarters in the city.
With Fosun on board, Cirque du Soleil is likely hoping it will be more successful at wooing the Chinese consumer than the last time it set up base in the country, though that stretch was in Macau.
In 2012, just three-and-a-half years into a fixed program that was supposed to last ten years, Cirque du Soleil left gambling mecca Macau and shut its regular Macau show. It had set up the show in Macau in the hopes of wooing the thousands of mainland Chinese visitors that had made the former Portuguese enclave the world’s biggest casino market, outstripping the Las Vegas strip. Cirque du Soleil is a staple at Las Vegas.
Still, even though short-lived, Cirque du Soleil gained popularity among the masses of mainland Chinese tourists that visited Macau to gamble. And as Walt Disney Co.’s $5.5 billion efforts to build a theme park in Shanghai show, there is a lot of interest in theme parks and entertainment in China. Fosun, which began its foray into buying assets for China’s growing wealthy with a 13.8% stake in Follie Follie, has already expanded the group’s worldwide shops to 800 since the 2011 purchase.
For now, no details on what specific plans Fosun has in mind to expand in China are immediately available but the circus purchase is just the latest in the Shanghai-based firm’s global acquisition spree. Apart from billions spent on insurance assets in countries like Portugal and Israel and real estate in the U.S., Fosun has been busy on its “happy lifestyle” mission. The biggest of these outlays into companies that appeal to the increasingly wealthy Chinese consumer was its recent US$1.1 billion takeover of French resort operator Club Méditerranée for US$1.1 billion, after a hard-fought-takeover battle that spanned two years.
Apart from TPG and Fosun, the Quebec-based investors that are buying into Cirque du Soleil in the estimated $1.5 billion deal are pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and businessman Mitch Garber. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, Fosun said.
In its filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Tuesday confirming the addition of the circus troupe to its growing repertoire of what it called the “happy lifestyle area”, Fosun said its purchase is the latest example of it “combining China’s growth momentum with global resources.” Fosun said that the consortium has committed to keeping Montreal the troupe’s “decision-making and creative base” and would also keep Cirque du Soleil’s headquarters in the city.
With Fosun on board, Cirque du Soleil is likely hoping it will be more successful at wooing the Chinese consumer than the last time it set up base in the country, though that stretch was in Macau.
In 2012, just three-and-a-half years into a fixed program that was supposed to last ten years, Cirque du Soleil left gambling mecca Macau and shut its regular Macau show. It had set up the show in Macau in the hopes of wooing the thousands of mainland Chinese visitors that had made the former Portuguese enclave the world’s biggest casino market, outstripping the Las Vegas strip. Cirque du Soleil is a staple at Las Vegas.
Still, even though short-lived, Cirque du Soleil gained popularity among the masses of mainland Chinese tourists that visited Macau to gamble. And as Walt Disney Co.’s $5.5 billion efforts to build a theme park in Shanghai show, there is a lot of interest in theme parks and entertainment in China. Fosun, which began its foray into buying assets for China’s growing wealthy with a 13.8% stake in Follie Follie, has already expanded the group’s worldwide shops to 800 since the 2011 purchase.
For now, no details on what specific plans Fosun has in mind to expand in China are immediately available but the circus purchase is just the latest in the Shanghai-based firm’s global acquisition spree. Apart from billions spent on insurance assets in countries like Portugal and Israel and real estate in the U.S., Fosun has been busy on its “happy lifestyle” mission. The biggest of these outlays into companies that appeal to the increasingly wealthy Chinese consumer was its recent US$1.1 billion takeover of French resort operator Club Méditerranée for US$1.1 billion, after a hard-fought-takeover battle that spanned two years.
Apart from TPG and Fosun, the Quebec-based investors that are buying into Cirque du Soleil in the estimated $1.5 billion deal are pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and businessman Mitch Garber. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, Fosun said.
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