History
A tiny shell turned Yukon gold explorer bought and unwound an Alberta oil company, then chased an oil-spill technology deal before losing its SEC registration in 2017.
2006-2008: From shell to explorer
Scout Exploration began as Virtual Curricula Corp., a shell that had planned interactive-education products. On April 10, 2006 it was renamed and switched to mineral exploration, acquiring nine gold-silver claims on the Wheaton River in Yukon Territory from Iscis Holdings Ltd. In August 2006 it registered up to 1,700,000 shares for resale by existing shareholders, bringing the company no proceeds.
The first annual report, for the year to September 30, 2006, showed a net loss of $85,201, against a few thousand dollars a year in earlier shell costs. The company had raised $85,000 from 1,700,000 shares and issued 500,000 more for the claims. It ended the year with just $2,075 of stockholders' equity.
2008-2012: The Kerrisdale detour
The Yukon claim lay dormant. Under an agreement signed June 18, 2008, Scout bought all of Kerrisdale Resources Ltd., an Alberta oil and gas company, from Brian Mahood for CDN$775,000: CDN$425,000 in cash and a CDN$360,000 secured debenture (a loan backed by assets). Fiscal 2008 net loss was $368,828, and equity turned positive at $303,720 thanks to the capital raised for the deal.
It did not last. Falling oil and gas prices left Kerrisdale unable to service the debenture, and Mahood declared the company in default. Effective April 1, 2009, Scout sold its entire stake back to him for $1, closing on June 30, 2009. Fiscal 2009 ended with a $167,156 loss and a $231,774 deficit.
The record then goes quiet. In 2012 Scout filed late reports and restated its 2008 accounts, concluding it never actually controlled Kerrisdale despite owning all its shares. It also confirmed it had deferred all further work on the Wheaton River claims.
2011-2017: The oil-boom deal and the end
On September 14, 2011 Scout signed a letter of intent with IDS Offshore Inc. for exclusive rights to an oil-spill-response technology under development, for $4,265,000 in cash over three years plus up to 12,500,000 new shares. Fiscal 2011 brought a $75,322 loss and a $380,584 deficit.
The deal was amended twice more in 2012, pushing the cash payments out to mid-2013. On signing the amended letter, Scout issued 5,000,000 shares valued at $0.05 each, lifting shares outstanding to 15,441,356. Fiscal 2012 net loss rose to $407,648 and the deficit to $458,268.
That was the last annual report. None was filed for fiscal 2013 or later, and the fate of the IDS deal was never disclosed. On July 12, 2017 the SEC revoked Scout's registration for failing to file reports, ending its life as an SEC reporting company.
Written from the 8 story beats below (2006 to 12 July 2017), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.