[AH LOGO] EXHIBIT 99.1
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT:
James B. Dale, Chief Financial Officer Jerry Daly or Carol McCune
847-228-5401 x 361 703-435-6293
jimdale@arlingtonhospitality.com jerry@dalygray.com
ARLINGTON HOSPITALITY, INC. COMPLETES ITS REVERSE/FORWARD STOCK SPLIT
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., December 4, 2003--Arlington Hospitality, Inc.
(Nasdaq/NM: HOST), a hotel development and management company, announced that it
completed a 1-for-100 reverse stock split, immediately followed by a 100-for-1
forward split on November 28, 2003, the effective date. As a result of the
reverse/forward split, the company will completely redeem for cash the shares of
common stock owned by stockholders holding less than 100 shares on the effective
date. The cash purchase price for each share, $3.83, is equal to the average
closing price of the company's common stock for the 30 trading days immediately
preceding the effective date. The company anticipates that it will purchase a
total of approximately 35,000 shares from an aggregate of approximately 900
holders of the company's common stock.
The reverse/forward split, which was approved by stockholders at the
company's annual meeting on October 29, 2003, is intended as a means of reducing
the company's administrative costs and allowing holders of less than 100 of the
company's shares to receive cash for their shares without incurring transaction
costs.
In order to receive payment for their shares, owners of less than 100
shares whose shares are registered in their name must send in their stock
certificates to Affiliated Stock Transfer, the company's transfer agent. The
company intends to send information to registered holders on
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how to send in their certificates, and a letter of transmittal to be returned
with the certificates, within five to 10 business days of the effective date.
Registered holders should not send in their stock certificates until they
receive this mailing from the company.
The company intends to treat stockholders holding common stock in
street name through a nominee, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in the same
manner as stockholders whose shares are registered in their names. The company
has instructed all nominees to effect the reverse/forward split for their
beneficial holders. Owners of less than 100 shares whose shares are held in
street name should, therefore, not have to take any action to receive cash for
their shares. Nominees may, however, have different procedures for effecting the
splits, so stockholders who hold shares in street name should contact their bank
or broker-dealer.
For further details on the reverse/forward split, investors should
refer to the investor relations section of the company's website at
www.arlingtonhospitality.com, which has answers to frequently asked questions
regarding the transaction.
Arlington Hospitality, Inc. is a hotel development and management
company that builds, operates and sells mid-market hotels, primarily the
AmeriHost Inn brand. Currently, Arlington Hospitality, Inc. owns or manages 64
properties in 17 states, including 57 AmeriHost Inn hotels, for a total of 4,655
rooms, with additional AmeriHost Inn & Suites hotels under development. The
AmeriHost Inn brand is a mid-market, limited service hotel brand with more than
100 properties located in 22 states and Canada.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical, including
statements regarding management's intentions, beliefs, expectations,
representations, plans or predictions of the future, and are typically
identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend,"
"estimate," "may," "will,"
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"should," and "could." There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements including, without limitation, risks relating to the
development and operation of hotels, the timing, consummation and final terms of
hotel sales, the availability of capital to finance growth, geopolitical events,
competition and the historical cyclicality of the lodging industry. For
discussion of these risks and uncertainties, see the company's Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2003 as-filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements included in
this press release are based on information available at the time of the release
and Arlington Hospitality assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statement.