Cirque du Soleil invests in Sid Lee - The strategic alliance will enable both organizations to expand their creativity into new innovative business ventures

MONTREAL, Feb. 17, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Cirque du Soleil announces it is investing in a significant minority equity stake in Sid Lee that will mesh the combined talents of both Quebec organizations in order to nurture innovative projects for the benefit of their respective clients and partners.

"This alliance with Sid Lee is a first step in further expanding the creative potential of Cirque du Soleil into new business ventures," said Daniel Lamarre, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cirque du Soleil. "Sid Lee's comprehensive global offering, which spans communications and includes architectural design and technology services as well as an audiovisual production company, is world-class. Synergy with Sid Lee will allow us to further unfold the creativity and innovation of Cirque du Soleil and develop new national and international business opportunities," he added.

"The alliance with Cirque du Soleil will open the door to new creative projects and will allow us to bring business creativity to a higher level," sais Jean-François Bouchard, President and Senior Partner, Sid Lee. "This investment makes our company even stronger and allows us to continue to innovate for our clients at home and abroad. The expertise of Cirque du Soleil at managing and exporting creativity has always been a source of inspiration for us," he added.

In the immediate future, Cirque du Soleil and Sid Lee will continue to collaborate as in the past. New initiatives to arise from the alliance will be announced in due course. Sid Lee has been Cirque du Soleil's marketing Agency of Record (AOR) for more than 10 years. "Cirque du Soleil has often been like a big brother to us. We are thrilled to make our business relationship even more official. I am convinced that this alliance will enable us to take Quebec creativity to an even higher, broader level," said Sid Lee Chairman Bertrand Cesvet.

Cirque du Soleil
Since 1984, the company has brought wonder and delight to more than 100 million spectators in over 40 countries in more than 300 cities on six continents. Cirque du Soleil has 5,000 employees, including more than 1,300 performing artists from close to 50 different countries.

For more information about Cirque du Soleil, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com.
To find out more about the ONE DROP Foundation, visit www.onedrop.org.

About Sid Lee - www.sidlee.com
We are a multidisciplinary creative team of 600 artisans of many persuasions. We work globally from our Montréal, Amsterdam, Paris, Austin and Toronto ateliers. We are people passionate about embedding brands, products, spaces and services with meaning and resonance.
Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/meetsidlee
Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/sidlee

For further information:

Renée-Claude Ménard
Cirque du Soleil
[email protected]

Yanik Deschênes
Sid Lee
[email protected]
[phone]