FLE Fleetwood Enterprises

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FLE), a leading producer of recreational vehicles and manufactured housing, today announced that it is submitting a request to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the withdrawal of its proposed exchange offer relating to its 6% convertible trust preferred securities. On July 22, 2005, the Company filed a registration statement with the SEC regarding a proposed exchange offer and consent solicitation relating to all the outstanding 6% convertible trust preferred securities. Fleetwood proposed to exchange new convertible senior subordinated debentures for up to the outstanding liquidation amount of $201 million of the trust preferred securities. Since that filing, the market value of the trust preferred securities has increased while the market values of the Company's common stock and its 5% senior subordinated debentures have declined, making the exchange economically unattractive to Fleetwood. "Based on the market value relationships of our various securities at the time of the filing," Chief Financial Officer Boyd R. Plowman said, "we believed we would be able to reduce our outstanding liabilities, eliminate all or a substantial portion of the existing deferred distributions on the trust preferred securities, reduce interest expense and improve our capital structure and credit statistics through an accretive exchange. The change in the relationships of the market values has placed this goal out of reach." The Company will continue to explore its alternatives regarding the deferred distributions on the trust preferred securities. 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 Kathy A. Munson, Director-Investor Relations (951) 351-3650 DATASOURCE: Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. 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, Inc. Web site: http://www.fleetwood.com/

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