EMPIRE COMPANY LIMITED COMPLETES SECONDARY OFFERING OF WAJAX INCOME FUND
UNITS

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/

STELLARTON, NS, Oct 5 /CNW/ - Empire Company Limited ("Empire") and Wajax Income Fund (the "Fund") announce that Empire and The Sobey Foundation (the "Foundation") have completed a secondary offering of 4,577,994 units of the Fund ("Units") at a purchase price of $27.75 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately $127 million through a syndicate of investment dealers led by Scotia Capital and BMO Capital Markets. The Units sold to the syndicate, 4,368,194 by Empire through its wholly owned subsidiary ECL Western Holdings Limited and 209,800 by the Foundation, represent a 27.5% interest in the Fund and were all of the Units held by Empire and the Foundation. Net proceeds to Empire after commissions and expenses are approximately C$115 million.

The Fund did not receive any proceeds from the offering.

Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A) is a Canadian company headquartered at 115 King Street, Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Empire's core businesses include food retailing and related real estate. With over $15 billion in annual revenue and approximately $6.3 billion in assets, Empire and its related companies, including its franchisees and affiliates, employ over 90,000 people.

The Fund (TSX: WJX.UN) is a diversified income fund that has three core distribution businesses engaged in the sale and after-sales parts and service support of mobile equipment, industrial components and power systems, through a network of over 110 branches across Canada. Its customer base spans natural resources, construction, transportation, manufacturing, industrial processing and utilities.

The securities offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements.  This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the Units nor will there be any sale of such securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws.  Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this press release and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the Fund and Empire, to the future outlook of the Fund and Empire and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Fund and Empire.  In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue", or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.  Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information.

For further information:

EMPIRE COMPANY LIMITED Paul V. Beesley Executive Vice President and        Chief Financial Officer [phone]

WAJAX INCOME FUND Neil D. Manning President and Chief Executive      Officer [phone]

WAJAX INCOME FUND John J. Hamilton Chief Financial Officer [phone]