Business Services Industry

St. John Responds to Tender Offer

Business Wire, June 21, 2005

IRVINE, Calif. -- St. John Knits International Inc. (Pink Sheets:SJKI) ("St. John") responded today to the unsolicited offer announced by Saddlehorn Partners LLC ("Saddlehorn") on June 8, 2005, to purchase up to 48,000 shares of St. John's common stock (or less than 1 percent of the outstanding shares of common stock as of March 15, 2005) for $28.25 per share. Neither St. John nor any of its directors or officers is affiliated with Saddlehorn. St. John does not recommend or endorse Saddlehorn's offer and expresses no opinion as to whether stockholders should tender their shares in the Saddlehorn offer.

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has posted on its Web site an investor alert regarding tender offers for less than 5 percent of a company's stock. St. John stockholders should be aware that many of the procedural protections and disclosure requirements of the SEC's tender offer rules do not apply to tender offers for the equity of companies that are not registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, such as St. John. As a result, St. John encourages stockholders who wish to sell their shares to fully consider the details of the offer, to consult with their own brokers or financial advisers as to any decision and to review the SEC's regulatory concerns about such tender offers. These concerns and additional information about such tender offers can be reviewed on the SEC's Web site at http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/minitend.htm.> St. John notes that Saddlehorn's documents state, among other things, that Saddlehorn reserves the right not to purchase tendered shares, the right to withdraw the offer and the right to extend the offer and time of payment. According to Saddlehorn's offer, St. John shareholders who tender their shares may withdraw them by prescribed written notice and procedures before 5 p.m. (New York City time) on Wednesday, July 13, 2005, unless the offer is extended.

Vestar/Gray Investors LLC owns approximately 92 percent of the outstanding common stock of St. John and has advised St. John that it does not intend to tender any shares in the offer.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Certain statements in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws, and the company intends such forward-looking statements to be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby. There are many important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from expected results in the forward-looking statements. The company's historical results are not necessarily indicative of future prospects of the company. The company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release.