Cinar Sale Next Option

files/pictures/picture-35.jpgIn light of Nasdaq’s delisting of their stock, troubled animation producer Cinar Corp. has brought in investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. to help assess the future options for the company, which may include the sale of all or parts of the company. "Merrill Lynch & Co. will work with us and our current advisors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, to review all strategic alternatives available to the Company in order to maximize future shareholder value, including any proposed business combination, partnerships or mergers," said Barrie Usher, President and CEO of CINAR. "We are very pleased and look forward for benefiting from Merrill Lynch's expertise to help us resolve our present situation." In the meantime, Cinar has requested that the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council review their decision of the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel. "We fully understand Nasdaq's objectives in this matter. We wish to comply with the requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market and to protect the interest of CINAR shareholders by providing accurate, complete and publicly filed audited financial statements on our Company as quickly as possible. We believe a hearing with the Nasdaq Review Council will give us the opportunity to demonstrate the progress we are making in this regard and the extent of our efforts to comply as rapidly as possible with Nasdaq requirements," said Usher. The request for a review of the decision, however, will not stay its implementation, which went into affect August 2, 2000. In turn, the Toronto Stock Exchange is still reviewing the eligibility of the company's shares for continued listing on the TSE. The scandal surrounding Cinar started when charges of tax fraud were made, accusing the ARTHUR-producer of using fake Canadian names on scripts that were written by U.S. writers to obtain Canadian tax credits. Things heated up, when it was then discovered that $122 million was invested in offshore accounts without board approval.