American Greetings Corporation
American Greetings Acquires High Quality European Gift-Wrap Company
Cleveland (ots/PRNewswire)
American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) today announced the acquisition of a European manufacturer of high quality gift-wrap products. Terms of the transaction were not announced. The transaction and subsequent consolidation of the acquired firm into the Social Expression's segment will not have a material effect on the Corporation's consolidated financial statements.
Zev Weiss, Chief Executive Officer said, "This acquisition is precisely the type of transaction we have targeted as part of our strategy to expand our presence in product categories where we have a right to succeed. We are already a formidable presence in greeting cards in the UK, and now, we hope to enhance our selling proposition by offering high quality gift-wrap."
John Charlton, a senior vice president of the Company and the head of the international business unit said, "The prospect of coupling our retail distribution capabilities with a premier gift-wrap product line should help us profitably grow our European business."
About American Greetings Corporation
American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) is one of the world's largest manufacturers of social expression products. Along with greeting cards, its product lines include gift-wrap, party goods, candles, stationery, calendars, educational products, ornaments and electronic greetings. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings generates annual net sales of approximately US$2 billion. For more information on the Corporation, visit http://corporate.americangreetings.com .
The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts, including statements regarding the continued excellence of the Corporation's financial operation, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "should," "estimates" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied in our forward-looking statements, include but are not limited to: retail bankruptcies and consolidations, successful integration of acquisitions, successful transition of management, a weak retail environment, consumer acceptance of products as priced and marketed, the impact of technology on core product sales, competitive terms of sale offered to customers, successfully implementing supply chain improvements and achieving projected cost savings from those improvements, and the Corporation's ability to comply with its debt covenants. Risks pertaining specifically to the Corporation's interactive business segment include the viability of online advertising and subscriptions as revenue generators and the public's acceptance of online greetings and other social expression products.
In addition, this release contains time-sensitive information that reflects management's best analysis as of the date of this release. American Greetings does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or circumstances that arise after the date of this release. Further information concerning issues that could materially affect financial performance related to forward-looking statements can be found in the Corporation's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Web site: http://corporate.americangreetings.com
Contact:
Stephen J. Smith, VP, Treasurer and Investor Relations of American
Greetings Corporation, +1-216-252-4864, or
investor.relations@amgreetings.com