American Greetings sells retail stores to Schurman Fine Papers and purchases division that supplies Papyrus brand greeting cards

Sandy Yang

CLEVELAND , April 17, 2009 (press release) – American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM - News) and Schurman Fine Papers, a privately held creator, distributor, and retailer of greeting cards and other social expressions products, today announced the sale of business units between the two companies.

American Greetings sold its retail store operations to Schurman Fine Papers ("Schurman"), which operates card and gift retail stores under the name Papyrus. Schurman will operate stores under the American Greetings, Carlton Cards, and Papyrus brands.

American Greetings has purchased the wholesale division of Schurman, which supplies Papyrus brand greeting cards primarily to leading specialty, mass, grocery and drug store channels. American Greetings will become responsible for service to those accounts where Papyrus brand products are sold. The companies have entered into mutual transition services agreements in addition to ongoing commercial licensing, supply, and marketing agreements.

American Greetings paid approximately $18 million dollars as consideration for the wholesale division of Schurman. Schurman paid American Greetings approximately $6 million for its retail business. American Greetings also paid approximately $2 million for a 15% equity interest in Schurman. In connection with the transaction, American Greetings will provide limited credit support to Schurman.

Chief Executive Officer Zev Weiss said, "Today is a very important day for our company. The addition of the Papyrus brand to the American Greetings family provides the opportunity to serve a consumer with distinct tastes -- a consumer who appreciates the Papyrus approach to design and quality. This allows us to focus our efforts and stay true to our vision of providing relevant and compelling products to consumers through leading specialty, mass, grocery and drug store channels. It also brings to an end our business in the specialty retail channel, and we believe our stores will flourish under the Schurman leadership team."

About American Greetings Corporation

For more than 100 years, American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM - News) has been a manufacturer and retailer of innovative social expression products that assist consumers in enhancing their relationships. The Company's major greeting card brands are American Greetings, Carlton Cards, Gibson, Recycled Paper Greetings, and Papyrus, and other paper product offerings include DesignWare party goods, American Greetings and Plus Mark gift-wrap and boxed cards and Date Works calendars. 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 a one-stop source for online graphics, animations, and more 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 $1.8 billion, and its products can be found in retail outlets domestically and worldwide. For more information on the Company, visit http://corporate.americangreetings.com.

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