Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is preparing to reject a buyout offer from shareholders in favor of a competing proposal from lenders that have offered to supply $375 million in new loans while taking control of the bankrupt company, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The restructuring proposal from Cirque’s top lenders would supersede an offer by shareholders TPG Capital, Fosun International Ltd. and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which had hoped to preserve their stakes in the company without fully repaying its debt. The Montreal-based company’s board is close to accepting the lender offer as the lead bid, subject to better offers, and could do so as soon as Wednesday. Any sale of the company requires approval from the Montreal court overseeing Cirque’s bankruptcy. The company could continue to entertain other proposals. Cirque was forced to shut down its shows world-wide as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, choking off virtually all of the company’s revenue and forcing it to lay off close to 3,500 employees.
