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Howie Mandel will be an even more familiar figure than ever at Just for Laughs festivals. The veteran Canadian comic and America’s Got Talent judge, a frequent JFL performer/host over the years, has joined up with American entertainment juggernaut ICM Partners in acquiring the Just for Laughs Group/Groupe Juste pour rire, it was announced Wednesday morning.

In a statement issued by Mandel, ICM Partners’ managing director Chris Silbermann and JFL chairman of the board Pierre-Marc Johnson, it was stipulated that in confirming the sale, company headquarters would remain in Montreal and that both festival components, Just for Laughs and Juste pour rire, would be run “exactly as they have, with all the same leadership and personnel in place.”

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In addition, it was also announced that the new owners are in talks with “prominent local Quebec players to join the investment group.”

In a telephone interview Wednesday morning, Mandel was in a euphoric state: “Montreal was the first place that accepted me when I started out in comedy, and I still get more love here than anywhere else, which is why I wanted to be involved in this deal.