Richmont to buy rest of Louvem at 76 cents per share

2010-03-31 08:20 ET - News Release

See News Release (C-RIC) Richmont Mines Inc

Ms. Jennifer Aitken of Richmont reports

RICHMONT MINES INC. ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO ACQUIRE LOUVEM MINES INC.

Richmont Mines Inc. has notified Louvem Mines Inc. that it intends to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Louvem that are not currently owned by Richmont. Richmont holds approximately 70 per cent of the shares of Louvem. Richmont has entered into support agreements whereby certain Louvem shareholders holding approximately 54 per cent of the Louvem shares not already owned by Richmont have agreed to support the transaction.

Richmont has delivered a letter to the independent directors of Louvem requesting that Louvem form a special committee and retain a financial adviser to assess the terms of the transaction.

Under the proposed transaction, holders of shares of Louvem would receive one share of Richmont per 5.4 shares of Louvem held by them. Such consideration represents a value of 76 cents per Louvem share and is a premium of approximately 48 per cent to Louvem shareholders, based on the respective closing prices on the TSX Venture Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange of the Louvem shares and the Richmont shares on March 30, 2010.

The transaction remains subject to the approval of the board of directors of Louvem, regulatory approvals, the execution of definitive documentation and the approval of the Louvem shareholders. Richmont expects to issue approximately 1.4 million shares if the proposed transaction is completed. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed.