Canadian Publicly Traded Firms
6.1 When and how did the company start?
6.2 Have its structure and operations remained the same?
6.3 Summarize key events in the company’s recent history.
6.4 List recent mergers and/or acquisitions.
To fully understand a firm, it is important to place it in a historical perspective. Is the firm the same today as it was at its founding, or has it morphed into an entirely new entity? Understanding recent events, such as mergers and acquisitions, helps us to make sense of what is happening in the firm today.
The Annual Information Form at SEDAR typically provides basic information on company history. The company annual report and web site might have additional information.
A Canadian News Search may be helpful for more recent history. For older materials use Google News Archive or the Wayback machine which allows you to look at historical web sites back to 1996.
Paid Resources (Subscription Required)
You can find information on company history in the Datamonitor report at Business Source Complete (you will need to select Business Source Complete from the list). Choose “company profiles” for the Datamonitor report.
Mergent Market Atlas also has an extensive history section.