CLEVELAND, Aug. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.