Contact: John P. Saldarelli
Secretary and Treasurer
(914) 242-7700
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMERICAN REAL ESTATE PARTNERS, L.P.
TO ACQUIRE REMAINING INTEREST IN STRATOSPHERE CORPORATION
Mount Kisco, New York, September 19, 2000 - American Real Estate Partners, L.P.,
(NYSE: ACP) ("AREP") announced today that it has agreed with Carl C. Icahn and
Stratosphere Corporation, ("Stratosphere") which owns and operates a hotel and
casino in Las Vegas, to acquire the remaining shares of Stratosphere that AREP
does not currently own. AREP currently owns approximately 51% of Stratosphere
and Mr. Icahn owns approximately 38.6%.
Stratosphere's Board of Directors has agreed to a going private transaction
pursuant to which the stockholders who are unaffiliated with Icahn will receive
a cash price of $45.32 per share, and the Icahn related stockholders (other than
AREP) will receive a cash price of $ 44.33 per share. AREP will pay an aggregate
of approximately $44.3 million for the Stratosphere shares. Mr. Icahn owns
approximately 85% of the outstanding equity interests in AREP.
AREP will advance to Stratosphere an aggregate of approximately $100 million,
which funds will be used to build the addition to the hotel and to purchase the
shopping center on the Stratosphere property.
AREP also announced that this acquisition is the beginning of a new focus for
AREP which could take it deeper into the entertainment and gaming industries. It
believes that, with respect to the entertainment and media businesses, there may
be synergies between production companies for movies and live entertainment and
supplying entertainment content to hotels and casinos. AREP will also be looking
at other companies in these fields.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may vary
due to the risks and uncertainties which exist regarding the matters contained
in the forward-looking statements.
American Real Estate Partners, L.P. is a master limited partnership primarily
engaged in acquiring and managing real estate investments with a primary focus
on office, retail, industrial, hotel and residential properties.
