AMF Bowling Securities Litigation

The lawsuit alleges that AMF, Richard Friedman, Douglas Stanard, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., Schroder & Co., Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., and Cowen & Co. are liable under the federal securities laws, namely Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, based upon alleged materially false and misleading statements in the registration statement dated November 4, 1997 (the "Registration Statement"), and the prospectus contained therein (the "Prospectus"), both of which were filed in connection with AMF's November 1997 IPO.

In particular, plaintiffs contend that the Registration Statement and the Prospectus misrepresented and/or failed to disclose: 1) that AMF had suffered a serious decline in the number of, and revenue generated by, league bowlers at "constant centers" (bowling centers in operation for at least one year); 2) that AMF was misclassifying non-league bowlers as league bowlers; 3) that AMF was violating accounting and reporting requirements; and 4) that the positive financial results reported by AMF could not continue to be sustained, because such financial results were dependent on an acquisitions program that could not continue indefinitely.

The Defendants deny these claims and specifically deny any wrongdoing or liability to the Class or any Class member. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, challenging the sufficiency of the complaint, which the Court denied, finding that the complaint was sufficient under applicable federal law. The Court subsequently granted certification of this Action as a Class Action with respect to the claim under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, but denied certification of the Action with respect to the claim under Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. Neither the class certification, nor the denial of the motion to dismiss constitutes a determination on the merits of the case. Any final judgment made by the Court will be binding on all members of the Class except those members who exclude themselves as provided herein.

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