CLEVELAND, Aug. 9, 2013 /CNW/
- American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) today announced the
completion of its acquisition by the Weiss Family for $19.00 per share in
cash.
American Greetings' shareholders approved the transaction at a
special meeting held on August 7, 2013. The transaction closed and
became effective today. As a result of the transaction, American
Greetings' Class A common shares will be delisted from the
NYSE.
Chief Executive Officer Zev Weiss said, "Today is a milestone in
the Company's history as shareholders approved the Weiss Family
proposal to make American Greetings a privately held company and
that transaction was closed today."
President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Weiss added,
"Our family has guided the Company for more than 100 years and we
are excited to see American Greetings return to its roots as a
family-owned business."
Peter J. Solomon Company acted as financial advisor, and
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal advisor to the Special
Committee of American Greetings' Board of Directors. Baker &
Hostetler LLP acted as legal advisor to American Greetings. KeyBanc
Capital Markets and Macquarie Capital acted as financial advisors
to the Weiss Family, and Jones Day acted as legal advisor to the
Weiss Family.
About American Greetings Corporation
For more than 100
years, American Greetings Corporation has been a creator and
manufacturer of innovative social expression products that assist
consumers in enhancing their relationships to create happiness,
laughter and love. The Company's major greeting card lines are
American Greetings, Carlton Cards, Gibson, Recycled Paper Greetings
and Papyrus, and other paper product offerings include DesignWare
party goods and American Greetings and Plus Mark gift-packaging and
boxed cards. American Greetings also has one of the largest
collections of greetings on the Web, including greeting cards
available at Cardstore.com and electronic greeting cards available
at AmericanGreetings.com. In addition to its product lines,
American Greetings creates and licenses popular character brands
through the American Greetings Properties group. Headquartered in
Cleveland,
Ohio, American Greetings generates annual revenue of
approximately $1.9
billion, and its products can be found in retail
outlets worldwide. For more information on the Company, visit
http://corporate.americangreetings.com.
SOURCE American Greetings Corporation