MONTREAL – Bell Media continued its buying spree this week, announcing that it is partnering with agency ICM Partners and Canadian comedian and TV host Howie Mandel to acquire Montreal-based comedy enterprise Groupe Juste pour rire. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Groupe Juste pour rire produces Montreal's Just For Laughs comedy festival as well as numerous TV and live productions in Quebec, Canada, and internationally.
Just For Laughs remains a Montreal-based company backed by Bell Media and event promoter and festival producer Groupe CH, which also owns evenko and L'Équipe Spectra, as well as the Montreal Canadiens hockey club and the Bell Centre, among other high-profile Montreal properties.
This year's Just For Laughs festival and French-language counterpart Festival Juste pour rire will take place July 14 – 29 in Montreal.
"Just For Laughs is world-renowned as home to the funniest original content on any platform, featuring the best established talent in comedy alongside the rising stars of the future," said Gerry Frappier, Bell Media’s president of French-language TV and RDS, in the news release. "As Canada's leading content creation company, Bell Media looks forward to amplifying Just For Laughs via our broadcast and digital services, and is excited about working with ICM and Groupe CH to support the growth of Just For Laughs in Montréal, across Canada, and around the world."
