Cirque du Soleil targets children's market in collaboration with the company behind Paw Patrol's live show

The CEO of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment says it will be a hero with his grandchildren after acquiring VStar Entertainment Group, the production company behind the live tour of PAW Patrol – a popular children's cartoon about a search and rescue dog pack.

Canada's best-known circus show company purchased from Minneapolis VStar and its subsidiary of Pompano, Florida, Cirque Dreams, with the goal of expanding its audience to children.

"We educate families through our shows, but we have never specifically targeted children. And we have seen the success that VStar has had with PAW Patrol, "said CEO Daniel Lamarre in an interview. "My grandchildren love it, so I'm going to be a hero with my grandchildren when I tell them."

The VStar transaction is part of an expansion into new markets for the Montreal-based company that now offers shows on cruise ships and in shopping malls, and recently launched NFL Experience in Times Square to allow spectators to immerse themselves in a simulated football game.

VStar – a live entertainment company with a track record of producing children's and family-based shows based on Nickelodeon and Spin Master brands, such as PAW Patrol, will help Cirque du Soleil to penetrate what Lamarre said to be a multi-billion dollar market. They also win a team of 150 producers and traders between VStar and Cirque Dreams.

Although he does not disclose the price of the acquisition, Lamarre said that the agreement will add two million additional tickets to the $ 13 million that Cirque du Soleil sells to the company. 39 and is comparable to the two million tickets that the acquisition of Blue Man Productions last year was supposed to add

The agreement places Cirque de Soleil in third place in the entertainment industry after Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Anschutz Entertainment According to Lamarre, Group Inc. seeks to diversify its production and to expand globally.

"In terms of position, it's great because we think there is room to consolidate the live entertainment market" I said. "And we see ourselves as this consolidator."

This is the second acquisition for the company since TPG, the San Francisco-based private equity firm and Fort Worth, Texas acquired Cirque du Soleil in 2015 in an agreement that Moody's Investors Service Inc. rated to 1.5 billion US dollars

– With the help of Sandrine Rastello.

Bloomberg.com