Investments in Equicorp Industries went up in smoke

The shares of Equicorp Industries, incorporated in Ontario, Canada, together with those of QCI Industries and Mircan Industries, were being sold at people's doors and through banks in The Netherlands and Belgium in the 1970's. A Dutch person told me that he paid in that manner 2000 Dutch Guilders for a piece of 300 shares Equicorp. It appears that it all became a great scam.
I'm afraid that the owners are now holding nothing more than collector's items.

This cover-folder (to keep the shares) shows the Toronto city skyline on the front and other real estate and industry projects inside. On the back many graphs of Canada's booming economy.

As stated on this cover-folder the aim of the company was to invest in real estate (they owned appartment houses in Toronto and Kitchener), but also in young industrial enterprises.

Their head office was at 383 Limestone Crescent, Downsvieuw , Toronto.
Their accountants were Starkman, Kraft, Rothman, Berger & Grill, 1200 Sheppard Avenue East, Willowdale, Toronto.
Their transfer agent, as also stated on the certificates, was The Metropolitan Trust Co., 363 Bay Street, Toronto.

The shares that I have seen were all typed out in the name of Blanchard Nederland, commissionairs in effecten (stockbrokers) in Rotterdam. Handelsregister (Trade register number) 119751. But shares may have been issued in the name of other persons or broker houses.

I do not understand how this worked. The investors may have received evidence of payment for their investment (however, I have never seen such documents), but it was Blanchard Nederland that seemed to remain the legal owner of the shares. Nevertheless I have found on the back of one scertificate the signature of the director of Blanchard Nederland, mr. G. Jacobson. But on the back no investor's name is filled in.

I have letters (not dated) and dated accompanying stock delivery specifications from April 7th, 27th and May 9th 1977 from Blanchard Nederland. They sent the shares they kept for their investors, to their investors, with this letter in which they announce that it has become to expensive to go on to keep and administrate the investment certificates. Therefore they sent the share certificates to their investors, but the shares remained issued in the name of Blanchard Nederland and were not endorsed to the investors. The letter was signed by the director of Blanchard Nederland, mr. G. Jacobsen. The latest date of issuance that I have seen on the certificates is March 1977, a very short time before Blanchard Nedeland gave up their administartive services.

This is all we know sofar about Blanchard Nederland BV. Can anyone inform me about what happened afterwards with Blanchard Nederland, mr. Jacobson and the economic history of the investments they sold ? These investment certificates were at least:
Equicorp Industries Ltd., Equicorp Industries Inc., Mircan Industries Ltd. and QCI Industries Ltd. See our web page on scams

A company with exact the same name, also established in Rotterdam, and officially inscribed in the trade register, has nothing to do with the former stock brokers. They derive their name from Ken Blanchard, and from Blanchard International, a company that gives training courses. In 2011 I learned that they had moved to the city of Amersfoort.

Mr. Holterbosch informed me that he bougt shares in Equicorp Industries Ltd. in 1974 through the Nederlandse Middenstandsbank. So, there must have been more channels trough which investors could buy these shares.

On June 10th 1974 the Equicorp Industries Limited became Equicorp Industries Incorporated as a legal form, a statement of which is printed at the bottom of the 1st certificate shown below.

I am not sure wether Equicorp Industries Inc. became (in short) Equicorp Inc., but...............

Mr. van Kempen found out that:

Equicorp Inc. became in january 1978 Equicorp Ventures Inc., a division of Equican Ventures Inc. In 1984 their address was: 425 Alness Str., Downview, Ontario M3J 2H4 Canada, tel: 416-667-1122.

At that same address seated Micron Industries Ltd. Both companies were related to Mirtone industries Ltd. After this the trail went dead. At Mirtone they could not or did not want to give any further inormation.
Bob Treadaway informed me that Mirtone Industries has been bought in the late 1980's by Edwards Inc. of Owen Sound, Ontario.

As will be outlined below in a pritty complicated manner, the trail leads in the end from Equican Ventures Inc. to finally Genterra Investment Corporation on June 8 1999. The text below was sent to me by Patty and Reeve. It is the answer they got from Tim Bradburn, Inquiries officer of the Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC") in answer to their request for information. I put in the underlining and bold characters for eysier reading:

Thank you for your inquiry to the Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC") regarding shares you hold in certain companies as evidenced by recently discovered share certificates. A review of your matter has been conducted by Commission staff and I welcome this opportunity to reply.

Global International Energy Inc. ("Global") amalgamated with Equican Ventures Inc. (25 new for 8 old shares), Glenrealco Inc. (1,828,519 new for 200 old shares), Four Fifty Dobbie Inc. and Southern Eagle Enterprises Inc. (23 new for 38 old shares) to form a new company called Equican Venture Corp. ("Equican") on December 4, 1987, on the basis of 1 new for 1 old share. Equican changed its name to Equican Capital Corporation ("Equican Capital") on January 27, 1988, on the basis of 1 new for 3 old shares. Equican Capital changed its name to Genterra Capital Corporation ("Genterra") on August 23, 1995, on the basis of 1 new class A subordinated voting share for 1 old class A subordinated voting share and 1 new class B multiple voting share for 1 old class B multiple voting share. Genterra amalgamated with First Corporate Capital Inc. and Mutec Equities Ltd. to form a new company known as Genterra on May 2, 1997, on the basis of 1 new class A share for 1 old class A share, 1 new class B share for 1 old class B share. Genterra changed its name to Genterra Capital Incorporated ("Genterra Incorporated") on August 26, 1998, on the basis of 1 new for 10 old shares. Genterra Incorporated amalgamated with Unavest Capital Corp. (1 new for 14 old shares) to form Genterra Investment Corporation ("Genterra Investment") on June 8, 1999, on the basis of 1 new class A share of Genterra Investment for 1 old class A share of Genterra Incorporated. Since Genterra Investment is a "reporting issuer", a review of its "company profile" on the System for Electronic Data Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") (at: www.sedar.com), to which all Canadian reporting issuers must post corporate information, indicates that "Stan Abramowitz" may be contacted at (416) 920-0500 to address investor inquiries.

Please inform me if you have more information !!

I have collected the following material sofar:

The engraving on the share certificates shows a graceful woman.

Equicorp Industries Ltd.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1974, brown, x (=100) common shares in the name of Blanchard Nederland B.V., price 50 €.

Equicorp Industries Inc.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vignette of elegant lady.
---------- brown, x (= 150) common shares, 1976, in the name of Blanchard Nederland B.V, Signed on the back by mr. G. Jacobson, director of Blanchard Nederland, stockbrokers in Rotterdam. price 25 €.
---------- red, x shares, 1977, in the name of Blanchard Nederland B.V., price 25 € (12.50 € for a certificate from 1976 with some minor border wrinkles).
---------- Equicorp cover-folder to hold shares, with photo of Toronto skyscrapers, price 50 €..

From Purchase invoices I know that the share price of Equicorp shares was 3,00 Can. $ (= 2,60 Dutch Guilders / $) = 7,80 Guilders on december 5th 1974 and Can $ 3,25 (= 2,41 Guilders) = 7,83 Guilders per April 16th 1975.

With thanks to the family De Kleine, Hero Fennema, Patrick de Ridder, dhr. van Kempen, mr. Holterbosch, Patty and Reeve for their information and / or collecting material.

See page on explanations, sales conditions, costs of shipping and on how to order and to pay.

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