1.   And early in the sale process when prospective bidders inquired about the limited partnership stakes, they were told they were not going to be included in the sale.

2.   Gates and Rathmann have each bought partnership stakes.

3.   Investors buy limited partnership stakes in a property or collection of properties.

4.   It is not yet clear what the ultimate value of those partnership stakes will be.

5.   Recently US West reorganized its media holdings, including the partnership stake, into a unit called US West Media Group.

6.   The statements raise the specter of improper activity in the solicitation of partnership stakes, legal experts said.

7.   Time Warner notes that its pre- partnership stake in Turner Broadcasting was purposely kept separate.