Income Opportunity Realty Shuns Offer to Sell IOT Shares to Sutter


DALLAS, Oct. 30, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Income Opportunity Realty Investors, Inc. (AMEX:IOT) announced Tuesday that its Board of Directors and President have not engaged in any conversation or negotiations with Sutter Capital Management, LLC concerning its offer to buy the outstanding shares of IOT and are not prepared to take a position on the purported offer by Sutter.

Karl Blaha, president of IOT, states that he has not received any offer from Sutter and does not know what the terms and conditions of the offer may be. However, Blaha cautions stockholders to carefully consider all such terms and conditions of any offer made to purchase IOT shares.

American Realty Investors, Inc. (NYSE:ARL), Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc. (NYSE:TCI) and Basic Capital Management, Inc. (Basic Capital), the advisor to ARL, TCI and IOT, collectively own 59.9 percent of the outstanding common stock of Income Opportunity Realty Investors, Inc. and have not agreed to sell any IOT shares as part of the current Sutter offer.

In recent discussions with Sutter and its associates that were initiated by Sutter, Sutter offered to sell its holdings in Income Opportunity back to IOT for as much as $18.50 per share. In these discussions, IOT has refused to buy back the Sutter held shares.

On October 23, 2001, American Realty Investors, Inc. announced a preliminary agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of Income Opportunity Realty and Transcontinental Realty for cash. Under the terms of the proposed agreement, ARL will offer each nonaffiliated Transcontinental Realty and Income Opportunity stockholder a cash payment for their TCI and IOT common shares. Such stockholders will have the option to exchange their shares for ARL preferred stock in lieu of receiving the cash payment. ARL will pay $17.50 per TCI share and $19.00 per IOT share for the stock held by non-affiliated stockholders.

Income Opportunity Realty Investors, Inc. is a Dallas-based real estate investment trust. IORI primarily invests in equity interest in real estate through direct ownership and partnerships. For more information, go to the company's Web site at www.incomeopp-realty.com.


            

Contact Data