WOC Wilshire Enterprises,

NEWARK, N.J., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wilshire Enterprises, Inc. ("Wilshire" or the "Company") (AMEX:WOC) announced today that it has engaged Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc., a broker-dealer subsidiary of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. ("FBR") (NYSE:FBR) to conduct a strategic review regarding alternatives to maximize shareholder value. Sherry Wilzig Izak, Chairman of Wilshire, said, "As one of the leading investment banks for the real estate industry, FBR brings to this assignment an in-depth understanding of our business, an unparalleled network of senior-level industry contacts, and a well established reputation for integrity and performance. Our goal is to maximize value. We have asked FBR to consider all alternatives to realize this goal." Ms. Izak said that the Company will report publicly once the Board of Directors has reviewed FBR's analysis and determined an appropriate course of action. "In the meantime," Ms. Izak said, "we will continue pursuing our previously announced strategy to rationalize our asset base through geographic concentration and quality upgrades in our core markets. As described in detail in our press release dated November 7, 2005 (updated for assets sales completed in December 2005 and January 2006), since 2002 the Company has received $80.1 million in gross proceeds from assets sales (including the sale of all of its oil and gas properties), has pending sales of $12.8 million, and has $29.7 million in assets listed for sale. We believe that the actions we have initiated and completed and key actions anticipated for the coming months have done a great deal to enhance the Company's intrinsic value. With FBR's able assistance, we will determine the best strategy that optimizes shareholder value, possibly including a merger or the sale of the Company." About FBR Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc. is a broker-dealer subsidiary of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. which provides investment banking*, institutional brokerage*, asset management, and private client services through its operating subsidiaries and invests in mortgage-related assets and merchant banking opportunities. FBR focuses capital and financial expertise on eight industry sectors: consumer, diversified industrials, energy and natural resources, financial institutions, healthcare, insurance, real estate, and technology, media and telecommunications. FBR is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with offices in Arlington, Va., Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Irvine, London, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. is the parent company of First NLC Financial Services, Inc., a non-conforming residential mortgage originator headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida. For more information, see http://www.fbr.com/. *Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc. About Wilshire Enterprises Wilshire is engaged primarily in the ownership and management of real estate investments in the United States including the sunbelt states of Arizona, Florida, and Texas. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT: The non-historical statements (including the statements regarding anticipated actions and potential corporate transactions) in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to several risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such projections. Such risks and uncertainties include uncertainties inherent in any attempt to purchase or sell one or more real estate properties at an acceptable price, environmental risks relating to the Company's real estate properties, competition, the substantial capital expenditures required to maintain the Company's real estate operations, market and economic changes in areas where the Company holds real estate properties, interest rate fluctuations, the possibility that business or market factors may cause the Company to vary from its current plans, the impact of changing economic conditions, the risk that the Company may realize in any sale substantially less than its asking price and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's 2004 Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Company Contact: Sherry Wilzig Izak, Chairman, 201-420-2796 Agency Contact: Neil Berkman, Berkman Associates, 310-826-5051 First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact: manselmo@wilshirewoc.us DATASOURCE: Wilshire Enterprises, Inc. CONTACT: Sherry Wilzig Izak, Chairman, +1-201-420-2796; or Neil Berkman of Berkman Associates, +1-310-826-5051 Web Site: http://www.fbr.com/

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