ComediHa! acquires Just for Laughs brand and archive

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Quebec City-based entertainment group ComediHa! said Tuesday it’s “entering a new era” as it confirmed it will acquire a number of assets from the financially troubled Just for Laughs comedy company.

ComediHa! said a judge has approved its bid to acquire the brands Juste pour rire, Just for Laughs, Zoofest, ComedyPro and Gags, as well as 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 said in a statement.

“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 year and sought creditor protection, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the changing entertainment industry for its financial woes.

A court filing earlier this year from insolvency trustee PwC said Groupe Juste pour rire booked a net loss of more than $7.9 million in the first 10 months of 2023. Court documents filed in March showed the company behind the comedy festival owed nearly $22.5 million to creditors. Other documents released during the insolvency process revealed an additional $5 million in unpaid debts owed by the festival and other affiliated businesses.

ComediHa! announced last week that it had reached an agreement to acquire the assets but that the deal had to be approved by Quebec Superior Court. That approval came Monday.

ComediHa! says it plans to expand its presence in a number of sectors including festivals, live production, television production, tour promotion, distribution and content monetization. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.

The company will hold the 25th edition of its ComediHa! Fest in Quebec City from Aug. 1 to 24, headlined by Laurent Paquin, Martin Petit, Fabien Cloutier and Korine Côté.

Last month, it announced it will also hold a Montreal event, called ComediHa! salue Montreal, between July 18 and 28. The lineup for the $10-million Montreal event will be announced Wednesday.

In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Tourism Montreal CEO Yves Lalumière said he was happy to hear the city’s Just for Laughs festival will live on through the ComediHa! company.

“I’m a big fan of Just for Laughs,” he said. “I’m confident that ComediHa! will continue to invest in Just for Laughs in 2025 and above. … That’s so important for us.”

The Gazette’s Katelyn Thomas contributed to this report.