American Greetings Announces Plans To Acquire Gibson Greetings Inc. / Transaction Includes Gibson Greetings Holdings in United Kingdom

CLEVELAND (PROTEXT) - American Greetings (NYSE: AM) todayannounced plans to acquire Gibson Greetings Inc. (Nasdaq: GIBG)in a transaction that will bring an expanded product offering tothe marketplace in the United Kingdom. "This acquisition marks our most important step yet inimplementing our long-term strategic plan, which includes anincreased focus on our international greeting card businesses,"said Morry Weiss, chairman and chief executive officer ofAmerican Greetings. He said the companies signed a definitiveagreement yesterday and the respective boards of directorsapproved the transaction. The acquisition still requiresregulatory approval. Mary Ann Corrigan-Davis, senior vice president ofInternational Operations for American Greetings, said the Gibsontransaction emphasizes the American Greetings commitment tobroaden its focus on the United Kingdom, and will benefit UKretailers and consumers. "We are excited to add Gibson in the United Kingdom to thegrowing American Greetings family worldwide," Corrigan-Davissaid. "This transaction will allow us to bring a larger and morecreative offering of greeting cards to consumers in the UK whileimproving the level of service to independent retailersthroughout the country." Last year, the UK subsidiary of American Greetings - UKGreetings Ltd - acquired Hanson White Group and Camden Graphics.Those acquisitions complement its existing operations in the UKwith Carlton Cards. American Greetings expects the acquisition of Gibson togenerate ongoing revenue of about $225 million and ongoing annualcost savings of at least $50 million (US) globally. AmericanGreetings has agreed to pay $10.25 for each share of Gibson stockupon completion of the transaction. Weiss said American Greetingsis in a unique position to realize the full value of Gibson'scurrent operations. Terms of the transaction reflect the valuefrom the following three distinct business segments: * Gibson's greeting card division in the United Kingdom willadd incremental growth to UK Greetings Ltd. * Gibson's creative content and investment in electroniccommerce will enhance the electronic marketing division ofAmerican Greetings. * Gibson's US greeting card division will provide ongoingsales opportunities for American Greetings from several newretail partners, making American Greetings a stronger and moreeffective competitor across all channels of distribution. "This is an exciting opportunity for us to work with Gibson tofurther grow its distribution in the UK," said John Charlton,managing director for UK Greetings. "Gibson has done a great jobin the UK to develop sales, particularly with independentretailers." Frank O'Connell, chairman and chief executive officer ofGibson Greetings, agreed that the sale to American Greetingsrepresents a tremendous opportunity for retailers in the UnitedKingdom. "We also are happy that American Greetings values the 150-yearheritage of Gibson and the value of our brand in the worldwidemarketplace," O'Connell said. "Our key accounts should welcomethe opportunity to partner with American Greetings with itsgreater array of products and services and we expect ourcustomers to benefit from this transaction." Weiss said the acquisition of Gibson is another example ofAmerican Greetings commitment to its long-term strategic plan andits goal to enhance shareholder value. "Since we unveiled our strategic plan in 1997, we have taken aseries of steps to grow all of our businesses," Weiss said. "Wealso have introduced innovative greeting card lines and signedimportant licensing agreements that have enhanced our entireproduct offering. Those factors, coupled with an improved focuson managing our capital resources, continue to allow AmericanGreetings to grow while adding value to all of our keyaudiences." American Greetings is the world's largest publicly heldcreator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards andsocial expression products. With headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio,American Greetings employs more than 21,000 associates around theworld and has one of the largest creative studios in the world.For more information on the Company, visit our site on the WorldWide Web at www.americangreetings.com . Gibson Greetings, Inc., an industry innovator in the greetingcard business. Gibson distributes more than 24,000 individualrelationship communication products, including greeting cards,gift wrap, party goods and licensed. E-mail greetings featuringGibson content are available through the privately heldEgreetings Network ( www.egreetings.com ), in which Gibson holdsa minority equity interest. Gibson cards are also availablethrough the Internet from Sparks.com ( www.sparks.com ). For moreinformation on Gibson Greetings, visit our web site atwww.gibsongreetings.com . Forward looking statements contained in this press releaseinvolve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual resultsto differ materially from those contemplated. Factors that couldcause such differences include this risks associated with thebusinesses of American Greetings and Gibson Greetings generally,transactional effects, integration risks and other investmentconsiderations described from time to time by companies in theirfilings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. otsOriginal Text Service: American Greetings Internet:http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Dale A. Cable, VicePresident, Treasurer, 216-252-7300, or Jim King, Manager,Investor & Media Relations, 216-252-4864, orjim.king@amgreetings.com, both of American Greetings; or AdamFriedman of Adam Friedman Associates for Gibson Greetings, 212-391-7596, or adam@adam-friedman.com; or James T. Wilson, ChiefFinancial Officer of Gibson Greetings, 513-841-6926 Web site:http:// www.sparks.com

http://www.egreetings.com

http://www.gibsongreetings.com

http://www.americangreetings.com

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