American Greetings Announces Completion of Note Offering

CLEVELAND, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) today announced that it has entered into agreements to sell $150 million of 7.00% convertible subordinated notes due 2006 and $260 million of 11.75% senior subordinated notes due 2008. The corporation has granted the initial purchasers an option to purchase up to an additional $25 million of
convertible subordinated notes. The transactions, which are expected to close on June 29, 2001, will result in net proceeds to American Greetings (after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated transactional expenses) of approximately $390.6 million. The corporation expects to use net proceeds from these offerings to repay indebtedness and to provide funds for other general
corporate purposes.

The convertible subordinated notes and the senior subordinated notes are being sold to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A. The securities will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and, unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale
would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

About American Greetings

American Greetings is the world's largest publicly held creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products. Its staff of artists, designers and writers comprises one of the largest creative departments in the world and helps consumers "say it best" by supplying more than 15,000 greeting card designs to retail outlets in nearly every English-speaking country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings has annual sales of more than $2.5 billion. For more information on the company, visit http://www.americangreetings.com/ on the World Wide Web.

The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: retail bankruptcies and consolidations, successful integration of acquisitions, 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 and the ability of American Greetings to renegotiate its existing multi-currency facility or any other facilities on terms acceptable to American Greetings, or at all.