American Greetings Announces Sale of M&D Industries
CLEVELAND, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- American Greetings Corporation
(NYSE: AM)
today announced it has reached an agreement in principle to sell
its subsidiary M&D Industries, a manufacturer of Mylar balloons,
to Amscan Holdings, Inc., an Elmsford, New York-based supplier of
party goods. The transaction should close in the next 60 days.
Morry Weiss, chairman and chief executive officer of American Greetings,
said the divestiture was an attempt to streamline and simplify the
company's operations as part of its restructuring effort, designed
to achieve $90 million in annual cost savings.
Weiss added that American Greetings will continue to distribute
Mylar balloons through its Balloon Zone entity under a supply contract
with Amscan. "This initiative will allow us to improve our overall
product offering to our existing customer base," he said.
Located in Manteno, Illinois, M&D Industries has annual sales
of approximately $25 million.
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 completion of acquisitions and divestitures, a weak retail
environment, consumer acceptance of products as priced and marketed,
the impact of technology on core product sales and
competitive terms of sale offered to customers.
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