Cinar is a production company founded in 1976 by Micheline Charest and Ronald A. Weinberg. Based in Montreal, the studio was heavily involved in children's entertainment. The company's business model, which included the licensing of its properties into educational markets, had a significant impact on its success; by 1999, Cinar held CDN$1.5 billion of the overall children's television market.
In the 2000s, Cinar became the subject of multiple business scandals, including accusations that the company had used offshore accounts to transfer money out of the company, had plagiarized the concept of one of its series, and had obfuscated the involvement of American screenwriters in its productions in order to continue receiving Canadian tax credits for domestic productions. Over a decade later, these scandals would result in criminal charges, convictions, and fines for co-founder Ronald Weinberg, and three other suspects.
Cinar was sold in 2004 for $190 million to a group led by Nelvana founder Michael Hirsh, and was folded into Cookie Jar Group. The company went to acquire the American animation studio DiC Entertainment in 2008, expanding its library. On August 20, 2012, DHX Media announced its intent to acquire Cookie Jar Group, in a deal that would make DHX the largest independent owner of children's television programming.