MEDIA RELEASE PR40047
American Greetings Announces Refinancing of Revolving Credit Facility and Repayment
of Term Loan
CLEVELAND, June 17 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) today announced that it has
successfully amended and restated its existing $350 million revolving
credit facility. The amended and restated credit facility will continue to
permit borrowings up to $350 million and will mature June 11, 2015. The
credit facility had no borrowings at the closing of the refinancing.
American Greetings has also repaid the entire principle balance
outstanding under its $99 million term loan. The Company used cash on hand
to fund the repayment.
Chief Financial Officer Stephen Smith said, "We are very pleased to have
refinanced our credit facility despite the recent erratic market conditions.
Our Treasurer, Greg Steinberg, orchestrated a thoughtful process that wisely
extended the term to 2015, retained important components from our prior
facility and jettisoned components that were no longer applicable. Our agent
banks, PNC Bank as global agent, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase as
co-syndication agents, as well as KeyBank and the Bank of Nova Scotia as
co-documentation agents, worked diligently along side Greg and his team to
help us achieve this favorable outcome."
About American Greetings Corporation
For more than 100 years, American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) has
been a manufacturer and retailer of innovative social expression products
that assist consumers in enhancing their relationships. 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-wrap and
boxed cards. American Greetings also has the largest collection of electronic
greetings on the Web, including cards available at AmericanGreetings.com
through AG Interactive, Inc. (the Company's online division). AG Interactive
also offers digital photo sharing and personal publishing at PhotoWorks.com
and Webshots.com and provides a one-stop source for online graphics and
animations at Kiwee.com. In addition to its product lines, American Greetings
also creates and licenses popular character brands through the American
Greetings Properties group. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, American
Greetings generates annual revenue of approximately $1.6 billion, and its
products can be found in retail outlets worldwide. For more information on
Factors That May Affect Future Results
Certain statements in this release, including those under Management
Comments and Outlook, may constitute forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Federal securities laws. These statements can be identified by
the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts. They
use such words as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend,"
"plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection
with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. These
forward-looking statements are based on currently available information, but
are subject to a variety of uncertainties, unknown risks and other factors
concerning the Company's operations and business environment, which are
difficult to predict and may be beyond the control of the Company. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
suggested by these forward-looking statements, and that could adversely
affect the Company's future financial performance, include, but are not
limited to, the following:
- a weak retail environment and general economic conditions;
- the ability to achieve both the desired benefits from the transaction
with Amscan as well as ensuring a seamless transition for affected
retail customers and consumers;
- the Company's successful transition of the Retail Operations segment to
its buyer, Schurman Fine Papers, and Schurman Fine Papers' ability to
successfully operate its retail operations and satisfy its obligations
to the Company;
- retail consolidations, acquisitions and bankruptcies, including the
possibility of resulting adverse changes to retail contract terms;
- the ability to achieve the desired benefits associated with it's the
Company's cost reduction efforts;
- competitive terms of sale offered to customers;
- the Company's ability to comply with its debt covenants;
- the timing and impact of investments in new retail or product
strategies as well as new product introductions and achieving the
desired benefits from those investments;
- consumer acceptance of products as priced and marketed;
- the impact of technology on core product sales;
- the timing and impact of converting customers to a scan-based trading
model;
- escalation in the cost of providing employee health care;
- the ability to successfully implement, or achieve the desired benefits
associated with, any information systems refresh the Company may
implement;
- the Company's ability to achieve the desired accretive effect from any
share repurchase programs;
- fluctuations in the value of currencies in major areas where the
Company operates, including the U.S. Dollar, Euro, U.K. Pound Sterling,
and Canadian Dollar; and
- the outcome of any legal claims known or unknown.
Risks pertaining specifically to AG Interactive include the viability of
online advertising, subscriptions as revenue generators, and the ability to
adapt to rapidly changing social media and the digital photo sharing space.
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 Company's periodic filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors"
section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.
SOURCE: American Greetings Corporation
CONTACT: Gregory M. Steinberg,
Treasurer and Director of Investor Relations,
American Greetings Corporation,
+1-216-252-4864,
investor.relations@amgreetings.com
NEWS 
