American Greetings Announces Amendment and Extension of Revolving Credit Facility

CLEVELAND, January 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) today announced that it has successfully amended its revolving credit facility.  The amendment extends the term of the agreement from June 2015 to January 2017, increases the amount that can be borrowed under the credit facility from $350 million to $400 million, reduces the commitment fee due on undrawn borrowings, and lowers the margins paid on borrowings.  The credit facility had no borrowings at the closing of the amendment.

Chief Financial Officer Stephen Smith said, "We are very pleased to have extended the maturity of our credit facility.  As a result of our already strong balance sheet and good market conditions, we were also able to significantly reduce pricing.  We appreciate the support of our lenders through this process.  We believe this transaction will provide us with the right level of financial flexibility to manage our business going forward." 

PNC Bank, National Association is the global agent, Bank of America, N.A. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. are co-syndication agents, and KeyBank National Association and the Bank of Nova Scotia are co-documentation agents.

About American Greetings Corporation

For more than 100 years, American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) 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-wrap 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 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 the Company, visit http://corporate.americangreetings.com.

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 performance, include, but are not limited to, the following:

• a weak retail environment and general economic conditions;
• competitive terms of sale offered to customers, including costs and other terms associated with new and expanded customer relationships;
• the loss of one or more retail customers and/or retail consolidations, acquisitions and bankruptcies, including the possibility of resulting adverse changes to retail contract terms;
• the timing and impact of expenses incurred and investments made to support new retail or product strategies, including increased marketing expenses, as well as new product introductions and achieving the desired benefits from those investments;
• the timing of investments in, together with the ability to successfully implement or achieve the desired benefits and cost savings associated with, any information systems refresh we may implement;
• the timing and impact of converting customers to a scan-based trading model;
• the ability to achieve the desired benefits associated with our cost reduction efforts;
• Schurman Fine Papers' ability to successfully operate its retail operations and satisfy its obligations to us;
• consumer demand for social expression products generally, shifts in consumer shopping behavior, and consumer acceptance of products as priced and marketed, including the success of new and expanded advertising and marketing efforts, such as our on-line efforts through Cardstore.com;
• the impact and availability of technology, including social media, on product sales;
• escalation in the cost of providing employee health care;
• the ability to achieve the desired accretive effect from any share repurchase programs;
• the ability to comply with our debt covenants;
• fluctuations in the value of currencies in major areas where we operate, 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; however the risks and uncertainties identified above are not the only risks the Company faces. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that the Company believes to be immaterial also may adversely affect American Greetings. Should any known or unknown risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, or underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. 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 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 Fiscal 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K.