Expert: Steven Taylor - 3/20/2011

Question
I found 1000 shares in Five Star Petroleum & Mines,Ltd in my mother's papers.  A letter she sent to Five Star responded that there was a consolidation and to contact National Trust Co, Ltd in Edmunton.  Are these shares worth anything?

Thank you for your help,
Maria Martinez

Answer
Maria, from the information I have available, Five Star did a 1 for 5 stock consolidation and became Consolidated Five Star in 1977. They later changed their name to CFS International. In 2005, CFS was acquired by an affiliate of its largest shareholder for $3.75 cash per share.

If your mother did not receive a check for the acquisition, the money would have likely been turned over to the government for safekeeping. You need to search the missing property departments of every State or Province in which she lived from the time she bought the shares until the takeover. You can search many of them online for free at www.missingmoney.com and www.naupa.org.