American Greetings Announces Authorization for $75 Million Share Repurchase Program

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Jan 04, 2012, 04:35 ET

CLEVELAND, Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $75 million of Class A common shares. The share repurchases are currently expected to be made through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions as market conditions warrant, at prices the Company deems appropriate, and subject to applicable legal requirements and other factors. There is no set expiration date for this program.

Chief Executive Officer Zev Weiss said, "We remain committed to our product leadership strategy and recognize that, at times, it may temporarily create volatility in our financial performance. As demonstrated by today's announcement of a new share repurchase authorization, we believe that our current stock price is undervalued."

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 the Company may implement;
the timing and impact of converting customers to a scan-based trading model;
the ability to achieve the desired benefits associated with the Company's cost reduction efforts;
Schurman Fine Papers' ability to successfully operate its retail operations and satisfy its obligations to the Company;
consumer demand for social expression products generally, shifts in consumer shopping behavior, and consumer acceptance of our products as priced and marketed, including the success of new and expanded advertising and marketing efforts, such as the Company's 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 Company's ability to achieve the desired accretive effect from any share repurchase programs;
the Company's ability to comply with its debt covenants;
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; 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.

SOURCE American Greetings Corporation