GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Sept. 16, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The outcome of the recommended public offer made by Agnico-Eagle has so far been a disappointment to Riddarhyttan's chairman of the board Pertti Voutilainen.
"It looks like we have not been able to inform the market how advantageous Agnico's bid is for the shareholders of Riddarhyttan. As of September 12, 2005 the offer valued the Riddarhyttan share at SEK 12.09. This represents a premium of about 50 percent which is very generous, and seldom seen in a process of this kind."
"We have certainly failed to communicate to the market possible consequences if the proposed offer does not come through. In that case the future of the company could be jeopardized and as a result the shareholder value endangered. And I do not want the shareholders to lose their money."
"The arguments presented against the Agnico bid are to some extent wishful thinking. The high spot price of gold is not a valid argument; even USD 400 per ounce can be considered optimistic for the purposes of long term future calculation. It is true that the recent results from the exploration program have been promising, but all of this was anticipated already in the spring when the Board of Riddarhyttan decided to support the bid. We have more resources but the increase of the mineable ore reserves has not been that significant and only mineable reserves are valid for feasibility calculations. The potential is there, but still it is just a potential."
"The worst case scenario is that the offer fails which could lead the Company into financial difficulties, termination of the exploration program, delay of the feasibility study, and postponement of the investment decision by several months or even a year. The positive atmosphere among the Finnish society might vanish."
"The history of Riddarhyttan has so far been a success story. My firm belief is that an acceptance of the offer is the best way to make this a continued success."
Pertti Voutilainen Chairman of the Board Riddarhyttan Resources AB