At the end of their patience, those responsible for the liquidation of the remains of Gestion Just for Laughs are no longer willing to laugh in the case of the multiple twists and turns of the sale of the former head office of the bankrupt company.
In a motion presented at the Montreal courthouse, attorneys for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the controller named in the file, ask that the court order the payment of a planned security deposit of $200,000 after an aspiring buyer, named Kai Jin, decided at the last moment to withdraw from the transaction.
With an area of 47,000 sq. ft.2the four-story building (mezzanine not included) located at 2095 and 2101 Saint-Laurent Boulevard, served as the Just for Laughs headquarters until ComediHa! decides to resume his activities. In addition to the company's former offices, the building also, for a time, housed the defunct Just for Laughs Museum.
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) still holds a first-ranking real estate mortgage on this building relating to an unpaid term loan in the amount of $1.9 million, plus interest. The sale of this building could allow him to recover his dues, as well as a minority of other creditors.
Hard sell
Shortly before the start of the procedure under the CCAA, the real estate company Colliers was mandated to find buyers for this building, valued at $4.9M, according to the latest Montreal assessment roll.
Photo Agence QMI, JOEL LEMAY
A total of 103 real estate professionals, 251 developers and 712 investors were contacted as part of this process. Despite everything, the building remained unsold at the beginning of the fall.
In November, the controller believed he had resolved the problem after accepting the offer from investor Kai Jin (November 7) and obtaining authorization from the Superior Court of Quebec (November 27) to proceed with the sale of the building.
However, it was without foreseeing that the Montreal investor would backtrack and reconsider his decision to acquire the building.
Serious reasons
In a brief appearance before Judge David Collier on Friday, Mr. Jin summarized that he made this decision after learning of new information relating to the building he intended to purchase. Having been unable to find a lawyer available to represent him on Friday, the latter asked the judge to postpone the case.
Judge Collier agreed to this postponement, not without taking the time to warn the principal concerned that the acquisition process in which he was involved was governed by strict rules provided for in the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (LACC). A process, he suggested, which could not be avoided without serious reasons.
In addition to asking the Court to order Mr. Jin's notary to pay PwC the $200,000 deposited in his trust account, the controller's lawyers also ask that it authorize the launch of a new appeal of solicitation of interest for the building on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
The hearing of this case is scheduled to resume this Monday afternoon at the Montreal courthouse.
