FLE Fleetwood Enterprises

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FLE), a leading producer of recreational vehicles and manufactured housing, today announced it has closed two previously announced transactions as major steps in its exit from the manufactured housing retail and finance businesses. Substantially all of the manufactured housing loan portfolio of HomeOne Credit Corp. was sold to Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc., a division of Clayton Homes, Inc. The transaction closed on July 29, 2005 for an aggregate sale price of approximately $75 million. Concurrent with the closing of the sale of the portfolio, HomeOne retired the outstanding balance on its warehouse line with Greenwich Capital Financial Products, and terminated that facility. Outstanding borrowings under the line of credit were approximately $46 million, and fees related to early termination totaled $750,000. Fleetwood is continuing discussions with parties interested in acquiring the other assets of HomeOne, including its insurance book and its business platform. On Friday, August 5, 2005, two other divisions of Clayton finalized the purchase of substantially all of the operating assets of the Company's manufactured housing retail operations, including 121 Fleetwood-operated stores, for a price of $74 million. The sale price was subject to a post- closing adjustment to reflect the final inventory count, and was also subject to an $8 million holdback pending satisfaction of certain closing conditions. The buyers assumed the retail operations' obligations under leases relating to stores that were open and operating at the time of the closing. The Company retained ownership of stores that are sublet to an independent dealer, certain of the stores where the Company had previously prepaid the rent under the terms of a sale/leaseback arrangement, the several previously closed stores, and various other miscellaneous assets. Fleetwood has paid off all outstanding balances under its retail flooring lines with Textron Financial Corporation and General Electric Corp. (as successor to Bombardier Capital. Inc.), which totaled approximately $31 million. The Company also retired the retail subsidiary's portion of the secured credit facility, totaling about $48 million. As a result of the transactions, Fleetwood's employee count has been reduced by nearly 550 people, or more than 4 percent, since the end of the Company's fiscal year in April. "We are pleased that these transactions were accomplished quickly, and our Housing Group can now concentrate fully on designing, manufacturing and wholesaling affordable homes," Fleetwood's Chief Executive Officer Elden L. Smith said. "We have an outstanding relationship with Clayton, which is an excellent, well-established Fleetwood customer through its retail distribution network." About Fleetwood Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. is a leading producer of recreational vehicles and manufactured homes. This Fortune 1000 company, headquartered in Riverside, Calif., is dedicated to providing quality, innovative products that offer exceptional value to its customers. Fleetwood operates facilities strategically located throughout the nation, including recreational vehicle, manufactured housing and supply subsidiary plants. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.fleetwood.com/. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information based on the beliefs of Fleetwood's management as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, Fleetwood's management. Such statements reflect the current views of Fleetwood with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including risk factors identified in Fleetwood's 10-K and other SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the cyclical nature of both the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries; ongoing weakness in the manufactured housing market; continued acceptance of the Company's products; the potential impact on demand for Fleetwood's products as a result of changes in consumer confidence levels; the effect of global tensions on consumer confidence; expenses and uncertainties associated with the introduction and manufacturing of new products; the future availability of manufactured housing retail financing, as well as housing and RV wholesale financing; exposure to interest rate and market changes affecting certain of the Company's assets and liabilities; availability and pricing of raw materials; changes in retail inventory levels in the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries; competitive pricing pressures; the ability to attract and retain quality dealers, executive officers and other personnel; the Company's ability to successfully meet its obligations with respect to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and the Company's ability to obtain financing needed in order to execute its business strategies. Contact: Lyle Larkin, Vice President & Treasurer (951) 351-3535 or Kathy A. Munson, Director - Investor Relations (951) 351-3650 DATASOURCE: Fleetwood Enterprises CONTACT: Lyle Larkin, Vice President & Treasurer, +1-951-351-3535, or Kathy A. Munson, Director - Investor Relations, +1-951-351-3650, both of Fleetwood Enterprises Web site: http://www.fleetwood.com/

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