By Peter Shout

(SP) Toronto - Apollo Gold Corp. (TSX: APG; Amex: AGT) and Linear Gold Corp. (TSX: LRR) announced a merger valued at $C$102 million.  The business combination will make Apollo Gold a mid-tier Canadian gold producer.  The share offer by Apollo places a 20% premium on the price of Linear Gold's shares.

Shareholders in Linear Gold will receive 5.474 shares of Apollo Gold's common stock for every Linear Gold share held.

The offer is based on the prior 20-day average trading price of Linear Gold, though Monday, Linear closed on the Toronto Stock Exchange at C$2.00 per share.

Trading in Linear Gold shares at the openning bell in Toronto is expected to be heavy as speculators move to get in on the gold rush.

Based on the number shares of Apollo being offered, the deal is valued at C$102 million.

Following completion of the Merger, Apollo will be owned 52.2% by current Apollo shareholders and 47.8% by current Linear shareholders.

R. David Russell, President and CEO of Apollo, commented, "This is an exciting time for the shareholders of both Apollo and Linear as we take a very important step towards building one of Canada's premier mid-tier gold producers."