Expert: Steven Taylor - 6/27/2009

Question
QUESTION: I found what appears to be 400 shares of Midcon oil and gas limited bought in the 1950's among my dads papers after his death, I'm trying to find out if this company still exists or if the shares have any value

ANSWER: Dave, if my information is correct, there might be some significant value to those shares. However, it depends on if the shares are valid. It is entirely possible your father received the money or shares due him sometime in the past, and the Midcon certificates were never cancelled. Only the transfer agent can tell you for sure.

In the meantime, here is what I found. Midcon went through numerous acquisitions and name changes. If my information is correct, it is currently part of Penn West Energy Trust, which trades on the NYSE for about $12.92 a share. Factoring in all various acquisitions, it looks like the 400 Midcon would now be about 380 Penn West. Additionally, there were some various cash payments, as well as regular unit distributions, which combined are not insignificant.

What you need to do is contact CIBC Mellon, Penn West's transfer agent (www.cibcmellon.com#. Let them know what you have and see if they have your father on record as a unit holder. If so, they can help you reorganize the shares. Also, if they say he is not #or even if they say he is#, I highly recommend you check the lost property departments of every state or province in which your father lived from the time he bought the stock until his death. Some of the dividend checks might have ended up there, waiting for him (or his heirs) to claim them. You can check many of them online for free from www.missingmoney.com AND www.naupa.org #each site has different participants). Search using his name exactly as it appears on the stock certificate, even if it is abbreviated or misspelled.

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QUESTION: The documents do not have his name on them, they have the name of what I believe is a brokerage firm, ( 2 documents, 2 different firms) there are other papers that indicate that they bought the shares on his behalf, would I still be able to trace these through his name?

Answer
Dave, the best I can suggest is to contact the transfer agent, CIBC Mellon, and see if they have him on file. They might ask for copies of the paperwork, so have that available.

In regards to the missing property searches, its free and easy to do online. Try using as many permutations of his name as you know and see what comes up.