HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., July 29, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- American Petroleum Group, Inc. (OTCBB:AMPE) through its subsidiary, American Petroleum Products Company, of Bedford Park, Illinois, has restructured the debt on approximately $4,000,000 worth of equipment (replacement value) for its bottling facility. The debt was reduced from an original indebtedness of $2.35 million to a final reduced amount of $1.4 million. Terms of the debt with Harris Bank of Chicago, Illinois include a four year term of repayment, with interest at 6% on a 20 year amortization schedule, and a balloon payment at the end of the term, which we expect to finalize the transaction with Harris Bank within the next two weeks. When this arrangement is finalized AMPE's management feels that there will be ample time to refinance the equipment at the most fiscally sound time.
In addition, AMPE has reached an agreement with American Group Financial, the owner of the two buildings in Bedford Park, Illinois that the company occupies. American Financial has agreed to sell the buildings to AMPE for a total of $2.1 million, which is inclusive of previous debt and an unpaid rental liability that the AMPE subsidiary owed to American Financial.
James W. Zimbler, AMPE's Interim President stated, "We have developed a great working relationship with Harris Bank, BMO Financial and American Financial over the past 9 months, and have demonstrated to them that with this plan of organization we can have AMPE on firm fiscal ground before the end of the summer."
Richard Steifel, President of AMPE's subsidiary, American Petroleum Products Company, stated, "With the equipment owned by AMPE and the debt restructured and the buildings under our control, both financially and operationally, we can now focus on continuing the great success we have had over the years prior to the Company's downsizing in 2001 and restore the petroleum products division to healthy profitability."
About American Petroleum Group, Inc
American Petroleum Group, Inc. (the "Company") is a Chicago area-based holding company with an agenda to acquire, merge, and manage various business opportunities. The Company's current direction is in the manufacturing and distribution of petroleum and related products for the automotive industry through its subsidiary, American Petroleum Products Company (APPC). APPC primarily serves the motor oil industry through the distribution of bulk and bottled motor oil products. American Petroleum Group's management specializes in the Private Label Bottling sector for some of the major oil companies in the U.S. American Petroleum Group also plans to pursue opportunities for Private Labeling of Motor Oils with several well know retail chains throughout the United States. APPC is also pursuing several anti-freeze and brake fluid private distribution agreements with well known national automotive repair facilities. Another area for growth being pursued by APPC is in the recycling of "uncombusted" oils, through a new marketing relationship with a Michigan-based company.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, as amended, that are based on management's exercise of business judgment as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. When used in this document, the words "may," "will," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend" and words of similar import, are intended to identify any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current view of future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties as noted in our securities and other regulatory filings. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation and do not intend to update, revise or otherwise publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events. Although we believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will materialize. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements.