MONTREAL — Global entertainment company Cirque du Soleil says it is unaffected by the financial high-wire act of its minority shareholder, Dubai property developer Nakheel and Istithmar World Capital.
The Montreal-based acrobatic circus said it is not owed money and foresees no impact from the debt problems of Dubai World subsidiaries.
“We had a board meeting last week and everything is business as usual,” spokeswoman Renee-Claude Menard said in an email.
Dubai World has sought a six-month delay on paying back its US$60-billion debt.
The government-controlled developer and its related investment arm confirmed last year that it had purchased a 20 per cent stake in the international circus touring company.
While the fallout from Dubai’s debt crisis rippled across the globe Friday, it appeared Canadian companies have escaped with little or no impact.
An involuntary restructuring of Nakheel could ultimately force the sale of its interest in the Cirque. But Menard said there has been no requested change in ownership.
“We do not speculate on any type of scenarios,” he added.
The sheikdom, ruled by Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, borrowed US$80 billion to launch a construction boom that built the world’s tallest tower and artificial islands to house the rich and famous and numerous other projects.
Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte last year said he sold one-fifth of the business for strategic reasons that would make the circus troupe financially healthier and give it a foothold in another part of the word.
In 2007, the Cirque signed a 15-year partnership to develop a permanent show on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.
The Cirque is one of the world’s largest entertainment businesses, with annual sales estimated at more than US$800 million and a collective yearly audience of some 15 million people.
Started in 1984, the company employs more than 4,000 people in some 40 countries.