Angus Ventures Inc Listed
Shell Summary for Sept. 6, 2017
2017-09-06 18:05 PT - Market Summary
by Stockwatch Business Reporter
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 5.70 points to 773.99 Wednesday. Patrick Langlois's first capital pool shell, Angus Ventures Inc. (GUS: $0.35), began trading today. There was one trade at 35 cents for 2,000 shares. Angus sold a $200,000 initial public offering at 10 cents, through Haywood Securities Inc. It also sold a $1.49-million private placement at 10 cents.
The shell was founded not by Mr. Langlois but by Toby Pierce, 44, a former well site geologist. Mr. Pierce was the lead oil and gas analyst at GMP Europe Securities LLP in London from 2010 to 2012. He now lives in Vancouver and is the chief executive officer of TAG Oil Ltd. (TAO: $0.55), an oil and gas producer in New Zealand and Australia.
In June, 2012, Mr. Pierce listed his first capital pool shell, Crest Petroleum Corp., with a $200,000 IPO at 10 cents. He listed Crest with a shell-making partner, Adam Cegielski, 41, a management consultant in Oakville, Ont. Mr. Pierce and Mr. Cegielski had hoped to find an oil and gas deal for Crest. They each took a turn as Crest's CEO until April, 2015, but they failed to close a qualifying transaction. Finally, in October, 2016, under CEO Richard Silas, Crest closed a gold mining deal and launched GFG Resources Inc. (GFG: $0.72). Mr. Pierce and Mr. Cegielski do not get credit for closing this QT.
In mid-March, 2017, Mr. Pierce filed a preliminary prospectus to list his second capital pool shell, Seaside Exploration Partners Corp. Seaside has since filed its final prospectus and is now selling a $200,000 IPO at 10 cents, through Haywood Securities. Mr. Pierce's fellow directors at Seaside are Mr. Cegielski, Chris Beltgens and Peter Laflamme. As well as being a management consultant, Mr. Cegielski is also the president of Eyecarrot Innovations Corp. (EYC: $0.135), a developer of diagnostic tests for eye clinics. The next Seaside director, Mr. Beltgens, 38, is the vice-president of corporate development at TAG Oil. From 2009 to 2013, he was a corporate finance associate at GMP Securities Europe in London. The final Seaside director, Mr. Laflamme, 43, is a lawyer in Toronto.
In late March, 2017, Mr. Pierce filed the preliminary prospectus for Angus Ventures. His fellow founding directors at Angus were: lawyer Hugh Rogers and shell-maker Craig Taylor. Mr. Rogers and Mr. Taylor have resigned; of the originals, only Mr. Pierce remains on the shell's board.
Mr. Langlois, 42, is now Angus's CEO, chief financial officer and secretary. He is a chartered financial analyst in Oakville. He is also the VP of corporate development at Probe Metals Inc. (PRB: $1.62), an Eastern Canadian gold explorer. Last week, Mr. Langlois bought 900,000 escrowed shares of Angus at seven cents from Mr. Pierce. Mr. Langlois also subscribed for 2.01 million shares in the shell's private placement. He now holds 2.91 million shares or 15.39 per cent of Angus. Meanwhile, Mr. Pierce is left with 100,000 escrowed shares. He paid five cents a share, so he made $18,000 from the 900,000-share sale to Mr. Langlois. Mr. Pierce has so far done well for himself as an investor, though not so much as a shell-maker, as the IPO shareholders of Crest might attest. Mr. Pierce relinquished his control and leadership of Angus even more quickly than he did Crest. Perhaps he will be able to stay a little longer at his third effort, Seaside.
Mr. Langlois and Mr. Pierce have two more fellow directors at Angus: Dennis Peterson and Jamie Sokalsky. Mr. Peterson, 57, is a solicitor and partner at Peterson McVicar LLP in Toronto. He is a director of Probe Metals. He subscribed for 1.17 million shares in the shell's private placement. The final shell director, Mr. Sokalsky, 60, is the chairman of Probe Metals. From 1993 to 2014, he was with Barrick Gold Corp.(ABX: $21.83), holding the position of president in his last two years.
Former Angus directors Mr. Rogers and Mr. Taylor initially held 500,000 escrowed shares each. They paid five cents a share. Last week, they sold their combined one million shares to Mr. Sokalsky at seven cents. Mr. Sokalsky also subscribed for 2.92 million shares in the shell's private placement and bought 40,000 shares in the IPO. He now holds 3.96 million shares or 20.95 per cent of Angus.
David Palmer, the president of Probe Metals, bought 3.92 million shares in Angus's private placement. He also bought 40,000 shares in the IPO. He now holds 3.96 million shares or 20.95 per cent of the shell.
With Mr. Langlois now at the helm, and his Probe Metals colleagues in tow, Angus Ventures plans to seek a mining deal for its QT.