Canadian performance company Cirque du Soleil has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc to help in its previously disclosed effort to find a strategic partner, a spokeswoman for the company said on Friday. Sources familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, said the company is exploring all of its options, including the sale of a majority stake, although it has not yet decided what path to take.Founder Guy Lalibert� owns 90 percent of the Montreal-based company, which is known for its acrobatic spectacles.Lalibert�, 55, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month he was seeking to sell 20 percent to 30 percent of the company, and was aiming for a deal that would value the whole company at $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion. He said that Cirque du Soleil's revenue dropped to $850 million in 2013 from $1 billion year earlier.Cirque du Soleil will appeal to both private equity firms and large media companies that are looking to increase their exposure to live events, one of the fastest growing areas in media and entertainment, the sources said.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (Goldman Sachs), is a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Shares of GS traded higher by 1.2% or $2.29/share to $193.90. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $151.65 and as high as $198.06. On average, 3096750 shares of GS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3700915.
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