Expert: Steven Taylor - 9/28/2010

Question
We are the attorneys for an Estate in New York. Our client held stock in the referenced corporations.  We need to find out if the stocks are still viable and who to contact in order to redeem the stock as well as the date of death values.  Perhaps you can point us in the direction of someone in Canada who can help us.  Thank you.

Answer
From the information I have available:

I have been asked about Alscope numerous times. There are a lot of old certificates out there, which is not surprising considering the company sold a ton of stock illegally in the US. The SEC caught them and shut down its US sales and trading, but only after a lot of Americans bought through the illegal stock sales. The company did a 1 for 10 reverse split and became Almarco Industries, which was struck from the Corporate register in 1995 by Alberta. That suggests no value, but you might want to contact Alberta's Corporation Department to confirm.

Sullivan Mining Group merged with East Sullivan Mines to form Sullivan Mines Inc. in 1983. Merger was on a 1 for 1 basis. Sullivan Mines was acquired by Cambior Inc. in 1987. Shareholders received 1 shares of preferred stock for each share of Sullivan held. That preferred share was subsequently redeemed by Cambior for $7.50 cash per share.

The owner might have received the cash back in 1987. They might have sent a check and cancelled the certificate without requiring its return. However, you should check the missing money databases in each state in which the owner resided from the date they acquired the shares until the buyout. You can search many of them online for free at www.missingmoney.com and www.naupa.org (absolutely try both as they contain different information.)