Expert: Steven Taylor - 9/2/2010

Question
I purchased a number of shares (10,000) of Java Joe's in June of 1999. I understand the company ceased trading on June 19,2002. Upon searching I have found the company still exits as a franchise based company with 10 locations in Ontario(they claim to have been in business since 1991).
Is there a way to recover some or all of my investment in this company even though they delisted from the stock exchange?

Answer
Paul, unfortunately, I believe your shares have no value. Yes, Java Joe's coffee shops still exist. However, the Java Joe's you have sold the operating subsidiary of the coffee shops in 2002 to the company's largest shareholder in exchange for that shareholder assuming almost 300K of the company's debt. Since that time, there has been no relationship between the two companies.

The parent company dumped the coffee shops to wipe out that debt in an attempt to reorganize as a shell to merge with another company. However, since they had already been delisted and slapped with several cease-trade orders in several Provinces, they were not an attractive merger candidate. It appears they were unable to ever resume trading, and the shares have no current value.