Statement of Groupe Juste pour rire inc.

MONTREAL, March 5, 2024 /CNW/ - Groupe Juste pour rire inc. ("JPR") announced that it has filed a Notice of intention to make a proposal under Canada's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. 

JPR's board of directors, after having extensively considered all available alternatives, came to the conclusion that the financial situation of the organization left no other choice than to initiate formal restructuring proceedings.

This process will allow JPR to seek investors or strategic purchasers for all or part of its business, with the goal of maximizing value for stakeholders and hopefully preserving going concern operations as much as possible.

We plan to maintain JPR's operations, albeit in a scaled-down format, throughout the restructuring process.

Unfortunately, the 2024 edition of the Just for Laughs / Juste pour rire festival will not take place, at least not at the same time and in the same form as it customarily has. Once the restructuring is completed, we hope that the festival will take place in 2025.

The decision to initiate restructuring proceedings was reached after thorough consideration of all options available to the company, taking into account its very difficult financial situation given the significant changes in our business landscape in recent years.

Despite several successes along the way, the past few years have brought many challenges:

• The media industry and the free festival industry are facing difficult times, and JPR operates in both of those sectors.
• The global pandemic forced us to effectively cease operations for two years, with significantly reduced revenue, while carrying nearly all of the associated overhead costs.
• The pandemic was followed by the inflationary times we continue to experience, meaning our cost structure increased appreciably, exerting unprecedented financial strains on the organization.
• In parallel, the media industry landscape has radically changed over the past few years. Consolidation and reduced budgets at the networks and streaming platforms have made television production more challenging.

The purpose of the restructuring is to allow the business to emerge stronger and healthier, and successfully position the festival and the other JPR properties for the long term to preserve the rich 40-year legacy of Just for Laughs / Juste pour rire, ensuring it is better equipped to meet the challenges of an ever-changing entertainment landscape.

SOURCE JUST FOR LAUGHS GROUP