Silver Bullion Trust Announces Appointment of Jason Schwandt as Lead Trustee and Chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board of Trustees

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 7, 2015) - Silver Bullion Trust ("SBT") (TSX:SBT.UN)(TSX:SBT.U) today announced that Jason A. Schwandt has been appointed as Lead Trustee and Chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board of Trustees of SBT. Mr. Schwandt is an engineer and for over ten years served in various management roles in engineering, operations and corporate strategy at former IBM electronics manufacturing arm Celestica Inc. He is currently president of J.A. Schwandt Engineering Inc. and has served as a Trustee of SBT since 2012.

Mr. Schwandt has agreed to assume these roles at a critical time when SBT is facing a hostile take-over bid by Sprott Asset Management LP and Sprott Physical Silver Trust (collectively, "Sprott") for all outstanding Units of SBT (the "Sprott Offer"). Mr. Schwandt stated, "I am grateful for the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities in the governance of SBT at this critical time. Together with my fellow Trustees I am strongly of the view that SBT's superior fee structure that is approximately 40% lower than Sprott, superior bullion security, vastly superior governance and Unitholder rights, more favourable tax structure and superior leverage to rising bullion prices clearly place Unitholders in a better position than the Sprott Offer can, and urge our SBT Unitholders to retain their Units."

Mr. Schwandt replaces Mr. Ian McAvity who stepped down as Lead Trustee of SBT and Chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and as a member of the Special Committee of the Board of Trustees of SBT. Mr. McAvity will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of SBT.

Mr. McAvity stated, "It is unfortunate that Sprott has resorted to making disparaging attacks against me personally. I am stepping aside from these roles so that SBT Unitholders can focus on the important decision they face regarding the Sprott Offer and so that these desperate personal attacks by Sprott do not become a sideshow and distraction to SBT and its Unitholders. I look forward to continuing to support SBT and its Unitholders in my role as a Trustee of SBT."

Bruce Heagle, Chair of the Special Committee of Independent Trustees of SBT, added: "Sprott's hypocritical attacks on Mr. McAvity are clearly an attempt to distract Unitholders from focusing on the fact that the Sprott Offer does not provide meaningful value to SBT Unitholders. We find it very odd that Sprott's self-serving attacks on Mr. McAvity come from a group that has no corporate governance structure, no Board of Trustees and no ability for their unitholders to oversee Sprott as manager."

Mr. Heagle continued: "While Mr. McAvity has served the Board and Unitholders well for the past 6 years, I applaud his decision to step back from his committee roles and look forward to his continuing service to Unitholders in his role as a Trustee of SBT. I encourage all SBT Unitholders to review the Trustees' Circular in detail prior to making any decisions regarding the Sprott Offer. We trust that our Unitholders will see the Sprott Offer for what it really is: a transparent and opportunistic attempt by Sprott to eliminate a competitor and generate additional management fees. The Sprott Offer provides no real benefit to Unitholders, but would result in higher fees, lower bullion security, reduced governance rights and increased tax risk. As always, we thank SBT Unitholders for their support and we look forward to continuing dialogue with our Unitholders."

Additional Information and Where to Find It

The Board of Trustees of SBT continues to strongly recommend that Unitholders REJECT the Sprott Offer, TAKE NO ACTION and NOT TENDER their Units to the Sprott Offer. The recommendation is contained in the Trustees' Circular, which has been filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Unitholders are urged to read the Trustees' Circular and other relevant materials because they contain important information. The Trustees' Circular and other filings made by SBT with Canadian securities regulatory authorities since 2009 may be obtained without charge at http://www.sedar.com and at the investor relations section of the SBT website at http://silverbulliontrust.com/Filings%20and%20News.htm.

Unitholders who have already tendered their Units to the Sprott Offer can withdraw their Units by contacting their broker or D.F. King & Co., North America Toll-Free at 1-800-398-2816; or via email at inquiries@dfking.com.

About Silver Bullion Trust

Silver Bullion Trust (established on July 9, 2009) is a passive, self-governing, single purpose trust, which invests primarily in long-term holdings of silver bullion and does not speculate in silver prices. At August 6, 2015, the Units were 100% invested in unencumbered, allocated and physically segregated silver bullion. Units may be purchased or sold on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" under United States federal securities laws and "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities laws (collectively, "Forward-Looking Statements"), including those related to: the reasons of the Board of Trustees for recommending to Unitholders the rejection of the Sprott Offer, not taking any action with respect to the Sprott Offer and not tendering any Units to the Sprott Offer; the anticipated costs, risks and uncertainties associated with the Sprott Offer, including any anticipated impacts on bullion security, governance and Unitholder rights, potential tax risks, leverage to rising silver prices and fees to be collected by Sprott; the anticipated timing, mechanics, completion and settlement of the Sprott Offer; the value of the Sprott Physical Silver Trust units that would be received as consideration under the Sprott Offer; the ability of Sprott to complete the transactions contemplated by the Sprott Offer; any anticipated results or performance of Sprott Physical Silver Trust or any other affiliates of Sprott; any anticipated changes to the market price of Sprott Physical Silver Trust units or any other securities of Sprott and their affiliates; and any anticipated future prices of silver and the Units.

SBT cautions investors about important factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed, implied or projected in such Forward-Looking Statements. Such Forward-Looking Statements involve projections, estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such Forward-Looking Statements or otherwise be materially inaccurate. No assurance can be given that these projections, estimates, expectations or assumptions will prove to be correct and any Forward-Looking Statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. These Forward-Looking Statements speak only as to SBT's beliefs, views, expectations and opinions as of the date of this press release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, SBT does not intend and does not assume any obligations to update or revise these Forward-Looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In addition, this press release may contain Forward-Looking Statements drawn from or attributed to third party sources. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those risks detailed in SBT's filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.