Short answers, pulled from the story.
Cirque du Soleil was founded on the 16th of June 1984 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, Canada, by former street performers Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix. The company is now headquartered in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood of Montreal.
Cirque du Soleil was founded by Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix, both former street performers. Laliberté had quit college and taught himself fire breathing; Ste-Croix famously walked 56 miles on stilts from Baie-Saint-Paul to Quebec City as a publicity stunt to secure government funding for their early performing troupe.
Cirque du Soleil's first official production was Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil, which premiered on the 16th of June 1984 and toured Quebec for thirteen weeks. It was made possible by a $1.6 million government grant tied to the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's voyage to Canada.
Cirque du Soleil filed for bankruptcy protection on the 29th of June 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of all 44 active shows worldwide and the layoff of 4,679 employees. The company carried a debt of over $1 billion. It emerged from bankruptcy on the 24th of November 2020 after being sold to a group of creditors led by Canadian investment company Catalyst Capital Group.
On the 20th of April 2015, TPG Capital, Fosun Capital Group, and La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec jointly purchased a 90% stake in Cirque du Soleil for approximately $1.5 billion. Founder Guy Laliberté retained a 10% stake, which he later sold to La Caisse in February 2020 for $75 million.
Four deaths are connected to Cirque du Soleil. Oleksandr Zhurov died in 2009 after a training accident in Montreal. Sarah Guyard-Guillot, 31, died on the 29th of June 2013 after falling during a live performance of Kà in Las Vegas when a cable was accidentally cut. Olivier Rochette died in 2016 in San Francisco after being struck by an aerial lift during setup. Yann Arnaud, 38, died in 2018 after falling during a performance of Volta in Tampa, Florida.