Fairvest, Canada's Leading Independent Proxy Advisory Firm, Reverses Wheaton
iver Recommendation Now Recommends Wheaton River Stockholders Vote Against IAMGO
D-Wheaton River Plan of Arrangement Coeur: 'Reversal By ISS Affiliate Sends Stro
g Message to Wheaton River's Board That June 8th Meeting Should Be Postponed' (
anada NewsWire )
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, Jun 04, 2004 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) -- Coeur
d'Alene Mines Corporation (NYSE: CDE) today announced that Fairvest, Canada's
leading independent proxy advisory firm and an affiliate of Institutional
Shareholder Services (ISS), today reversed its previous recommendation to
stockholders of Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. (TSX: WRM, Amex: WHT). Fairvest now
recommends that Wheaton River stockholders vote AGAINST the proposed Wheaton
River- IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX: IMG, Amex: IAG) plan of arrangement at the
Special Meeting of Wheaton River Stockholders scheduled to be held on Tuesday,
June 8, 2004.
Fairvest, an ISS company, recommendations are relied upon by hundreds of major
institutional investment firms, mutual funds, and other fiduciaries throughout
the Canada, U.S. and the world.
Dennis E. Wheeler, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coeur d'Alene, said,
"We are very pleased that Fairvest, an ISS company, reversed its previous
decision and now recommends that Wheaton River stockholders vote AGAINST the
proposed IAMGOLD-Wheaton River plan of arrangement. We believe today's decision
recognizes that Coeur's revised proposal represents a significant premium to the
IAMGOLD transaction. Wheaton River stockholders should act now and send a strong
message to the Wheaton River Board that they want the opportunity to consider
Coeur's superior merger proposal."
Fairvest, in its June 4th report, noted that Coeur's revised merger proposal
represents a premium of 16% based on closing prices of Coeur's and Wheaton
River's shares on June 2, 2004. Coeur noted that prior to Fairvest's June 4th
recommendation, Fairvest had acknowledged that "a sweetened offer" of
approximately 10-12% by Coeur would necessitate a review and possible revision
of its previous recommendation.
Mr. Wheeler called upon the Wheaton River Board to either postpone the June 8
Special Meeting or waive today's early cutoff of 11:00 am ET to submit proxy
votes for the meeting. "We understand that this is the traditional practice to
waive the deadline and we call upon the Wheaton River Board to make a public
announcement immediately to this effect," added Mr. Wheeler.
In today's report recommending Wheaton River stockholders to now vote AGAINST
the IAMGOLD transaction, Fairvest noted:
"We recommend opposing the Wheaton merger on the basis that it imposes a
deadline that precludes shareholders from exploring the benefits of
another legitimate and possibly superior proposal."
"We believe that shareholders need more time and information on the two
options. With the deadline looming so close, we believe that the Wheaton
board should be working to get more time for shareholders to evaluate
their options."
- Permission to use quotations was neither sought nor obtained.
CIBC World Markets Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Coeur. Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP are acting as legal counsel to Coeur.
Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation is the world's largest primary silver producer,
as well as a significant, low-cost producer of gold. The Company has mining
interests in Nevada, Idaho, Alaska, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.
Cautionary Statement
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits mining companies,
in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a
company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use the term
"resource" in this press release which the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us
from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider
closely the disclosure in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. You can review and obtain copies
of that filing from the SEC website at sec.gov.
This document contains numerous forward-looking statements relating to the
Company's silver and gold mining business. The United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include the
statements above as to the impact of the proposed acquisition on both the
combined entity and the Company's stockholders. Such statements are subject to
numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside the Company's
control. These include negotiation and completion of a formal transaction
agreement, governmental regulatory processes, the Company's ability to
successfully integrate the operations of Wheaton River, assumptions with respect
to future revenues, expected mining program performance and cash flows and the
outcome of contingencies. Operating, exploration and financial data, and other
statements in this document are based on information the company believes
reasonable, but involve significant uncertainties as to future gold and silver
prices, costs, ore grades, estimation of gold and silver reserves, mining and
processing conditions, the completion and/or updating of mining feasibility
studies, changes that could result from the Company's future acquisition of new
mining properties or businesses, the risks and hazards inherent in the mining
business (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, weather or
geologically related conditions), regulatory and permitting matters, risks
inherent in the ownership and operation of, or investment in, mining properties
or businesses in foreign countries, as well as other uncertainties and risk
factors set out in the Company's filings from time to time with the SEC,
including, without limitation, the Company's reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.
Actual results and timetables could vary significantly from the estimates
presented. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly
these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
This communication is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an
offer to sell shares of Wheaton River or Coeur. This communication is not a
solicitation of a proxy from any security holder of Coeur d'Alene Mines
Corporation or Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. If a transaction is agreed upon or an
offer commenced, Coeur will file a proxy statement/prospectus and any other
relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction with Wheaton River with
the SEC and the securities commissions or equivalent regulatory authorities in
Canada. YOU ARE URGED TO READ ANY SUCH PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS IF AND WHEN IT
BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS IF AND WHEN FILED WITH THE
SEC AND THE SECURITIES COMMISSIONS OR EQUIVALENT REGULATORY AUTHORITIES IN
CANADA BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. You will be able to
obtain any such proxy statement/prospectus (if and when it becomes available)
and any other documents filed with the SEC free of charge at the SEC's website,
sec.gov. In addition, you may obtain the proxy statement/prospectus
(if and when it becomes available) and the other documents filed by Coeur with
the SEC by requesting them in writing from, 400 Coeur d'Alene Mines Building,
505 Front Avenue, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83814, Attn: Investor Relations, tel:
(208) 667-3511.
VIEW ADDITIONAL COMPANY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
newswire.ca
CONTACT: For further information: James A. Sabala, Chief Financial Of
icer,
+1-208-769-8152, or Mitchell J. Krebs, Vice President Of Cor
orate
Development, +1-773-255-9808; or Joele Frank or Judith Wilki
son of Joele
Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, +1-212-355-4449; or Dan Bu
ch or Steve
Balet of MacKenzie Partners, Inc., +1-212-929-5500, all for
oeur d'Alene
Mines Corporation
News release via Canada NewsWire, Toronto 416-863-9350
Copyright (C) 2004 CNW, All rights reserved
-0-
KEYWORD: COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MNG
SUBJECT CODE: LAW
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