NEWS
RELEASE
This news
release is intended for distribution in the UK
and in Canada only and
is not intended for publication, release or distribution in or into Australia,
Japan, South Africa, The Russian
Federation, or the United States of America.
Immediate
release 29 April 2008
Increase in Size of Private Placement to Cdn$60m
Further to the Company�s offering announcement on 18 April 2008, Lero (TSXV:LER) is pleased to announce that Canaccord Adams Limited
(�Canaccord�) has exercised its underwriter�s option in full to increase the
size of the previously announced bought deal private placement to an aggregate
of 70,588,235 common shares (the �Offering Shares�) of the Company at a price
of Cdn $0.85 per common share for gross proceeds of Cdn $60,000,000 (the
�Offering�).
The net proceeds from the Offering will be used primarily to fund a
Cdn$25,000,000 loan from Lero to EMC in connection with the proposed
acquisition by EMC of all of the outstanding common shares of Lero in exchange
for common shares of EMC on a one share for one share basis (see the joint
announcement of Lero and EMC of 18 April 2008 for further details), to fund
continued exploration and drilling on Lero�s Taldybulak Talas (Kazakhstan) and
Karchiga (Kyrgyzstan) projects with the remainder being used for working
capital and potential acquisitions. EMC plans to use the net proceeds of the
loan financing to fund advancement of its mineral projects and for general
corporate purposes. The financing is subject to approval by the TSX Venture
Exchange.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of
an offer to buy any securities of the Company within the United States. The
securities of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the
United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), or
any state securities laws. Accordingly, the shares may not be offered or sold
in the United States or to U.S. persons
(as such terms are defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless
registered under 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption
from such registration is available.
For
further information contact:
Lero Gold Corp.
Tel: +44(0) 20 7514 0590
United Kingdom
Dr. Sergey V. Kurzin
Chairman
Alexander Yakubchuk
CEO
Nick Clarke
Executive Director
Bankside Consultants
Michael Padley/ Michael Spriggs
Tel: +44(0) 20 7367 8888
North America
Keith Schaefer
Vanguard Shareholder Solutions Inc.
Tel: 1.866.448.0780
ir@vanguardsolutions.ca
No stock
exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or
disapproved the information contained herein. The TSX Venture Exchange does not
accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains or refers to forward-looking information. All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities,
events or developments that EMC and Lero believes,
expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking
information. Such forward-looking information includes statements contained in
this news release regarding the completion of the Acquisition, targets,
estimates and/or assumptions in respect of future annual production of gold and
copper, costs, commodity prices, mineral resources and reserves, timing of
commencement and completion of �hot� commissioning and commencement of
operations, potential mineralization and future exploration, development and
operational plans and objectives (including delineating additional mineral
resources). This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations
or beliefs of EMC and Lero based on information
currently available to them. Forward-looking information is subject to a number
of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of EMC and Lero to differ materially from those discussed in the
forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or
substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the
expected consequences to, or effects on EMC and/or Lero.
Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from
current expectations include, but are not limited to: the grade and recovery of
ore which is mined varying from estimates; capital and operating costs varying
significantly from estimates; inflation; changes in exchange rates;
fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development or commissioning
of, and the commencement of operations at, EMC's Varvarinskoye Project caused by unavailability of
equipment, labour or supplies, weather and climatic conditions, delays in the
delivery and installation of plant and equipment or otherwise; termination or
suspension of EMC's current debt facility; failure of
Lero to raise the funds necessary to complete the
Acquisition; the failure of EMC and Lero to negotiate
the terms under which funds are to be advanced as contemplated herein or to
negotiate definitive agreements; delays in obtaining or failure to obtain
required regulatory and shareholder approvals; uncertainty of the outcome of
any litigation; inability to delineate additional mineral resources or
reserves; and other factors. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of
the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable
securities laws, EMC and Lero disclaim any intent or
obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of
new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although EMC and Lero believes that the assumptions inherent in the
forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not
a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be
put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
Lero Gold
Vanguard Shareholder Solutions
Vanguard Shareholder Solutions (Vanguard) provides, for remuneration,
corporate communications and investor relations services to the above mentioned
client(s). The information contained in this email is based on existing
disclosure documents or other publicly available information. You are
encouraged to seek independent verification of any information that is
important to your decisions. By responding to your inquiry neither Vanguard nor
the above mentioned client(s) is offering securities or advising or soliciting
the purchase or sale of securities.