British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation

The British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation, or BCRIC (pronounced "brick"), was a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

formed under the government of William R. Bennett. The company took over ownership of various sawmills and mines that had been bought and bailed out by the government. The name was eventually changed to Westar Group Ltd. British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation Share certificate both sides

British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation Share certificate both sides

The most famous aspect of the company were the five free bearer shares, dated August 7, 1979, which were distributed to all

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ns, to promote investment in the province, and earn back a profit to the buyer. British Columbians and investors were encouraged to buy more. The company expanded and bought numerous mining and logging installations. Because of significant investment in a

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play by a subsidiary, Westar Petroleum, and bad timing in a mining investment by another subsidiary, Westar Mining, the company ran into financial trouble. Investors saw their thousands of dollars dwindle to pennies. In 1995, the shares were consolidated at a ratio of 125 to 1. At the time, five bearer shares were worth 0.8% of a post-consolidation share. In June 1997, the consolidated shares were subject to a compulsory buy-out at $70 each ($0.56 per bearer share) as part of a

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

transaction by the

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. However, the buyout had a 10-year limit, which expired on June 30, 2007, and so outstanding share certificates no longer have any value. Companies based in British Columbia Defunct companies of British Columbia History of British Columbia British Columbia government departments and agencies {{Canada-company-stub