 American
Greetings acquires high quality European gift-wrap company
CLEVELAND, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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 $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.
CONTACT: Stephen J. Smith, VP, Treasurer and Investor Relations
of American Greetings Corporation, +1-216-252-4864, or investor.relations@amgreetings.com
|
