[There’s a prevalent misconception in the investment community that companies never comment on rumors. In fact, as exemplified by this PR, companies are often willing to deny a *false* rumor. For many companies, the typical MO is to deny a false rumor but issue a “no comment” for a true rumor.]
SAN MATEO, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jun 9, 2005 -- SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqNM: SCLN ) today commented that the current market activity in its stock could be the result of an article reporting that Sonae SGPS, SA, a Portuguese company, is preparing to make a tender offer for SciClone. SciClone had not been contacted by Sonae and had no reason to believe that a tender offer was likely. While the company's policy is not to respond to rumors or speculative activity, SciClone believes that the nature of the rumor and its potential effect on its stock trading made it important to advise its stockholders that the company has no basis to confirm or deny Sonae's intent and is not aware of any substance behind this speculation. SciClone undertakes no obligation to comment further on the subject of this press release. <<