ICAHN BUYS STALLED FONTAINEBLEAU PROJECT FOR $150 MILLION

LAS VEGAS Ń Icahn Enterprises has acquired Fontainebleau, a resort and entertainment project currently under construction on the Las Vegas Strip, for approximately $150 million. The project presently consists of an unfinished building located on 25 acres of land. Approximately 70 percent of the 7 million-square-foot building was complete before construction halted last spring. In a statement, Carl Icahn, chairman of Icahn Enterprises, said, The acquisition of the Fontainebleau property was a great opportunity to purchase a distressed asset that I believe has considerable value. According to the original property brochure for Fontainebleau, the $2.9 billion project was originally meant to contain more than 3,800 guest rooms, approximately 100,000 square feet of casino space, 28 restaurants and lounges, and a 40,000-square-foot nightclub. According to published reports in the Las Vegas Sun, construction stalled out when the consortium of lenders for the project Ń led by Bank of America Ń cut off funding for the project. Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC, the previous owner of the project, filed for bankruptcy protection shortly thereafter. According to a recent story in the Wall Street Journal, Icahn does not plan to restart construction for the project anytime soon. The story goes on to say that Penn National Gaming, one of the bidders in the bankruptcy auction of the property, estimated that it would cost approximately $1.6 billion to finish Fontainebleau. Ń Coleman Wood