Cirque du Soleil sale to U.S., Chinese investors made official

The sale of Cirque du Soleil to a group headed by a U.S. private equity firm and its Chinese partners has officially closed.

• Cirque sale gets approval from federal government
• Cirque duSoleilselling majority stake to investor TPG
• Cirque needs to stay in Montreal, Philippe Couillard says

Thefederal government approved the applicationlast monthby TPG VII CDS Holdings, a global private equity firm,to acquire a majority stake in the 31-year-old famed circus after itwas deemed an overall economic benefit for Canada.

Minority stakes go to Shanghai-based Fosun Capital Group and Quebec's Caisse de dpt.

"With the assistance of our new partners, we have already begun laying the groundwork for the global expansion of the Cirque du Soleil brand, as evidenced by our recently announced growth plans inAsia," Daniel Lamarre, president and CEO of Cirque du Soleil, said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We look forward to working with TPG, Fosun and the Caisse for years to come, as we continue to bring Cirque's extraordinary artistic vision to audiences around the world."

The buyers have committed to maintain the Cirque's Montrealheadquarters and ensure that at least 70 per cent of the Cirque's senior management in Canada is Canadian.

TPG will also provide annual progress reports to the federal government.

Cirque founder Guy Laliberte announced in April that he was selling a majority stake in the company he founded in 1984.