Weiss Family Completes Acquisition Of American Greetings - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - American Greetings Corp. (AM) announced the completion of its acquisition by the Weiss Family for $19.00 per share in cash.

American Greetings' shareholders approved the transaction at a special meeting held on August 7, 2013. The transaction closed and became effective today. As a result of the transaction, American Greetings' Class A common shares will be delisted from the NYSE.

In early July, American Greetings announced that the merger agreement under which the Weiss Family would acquire the company had been amended to increase the purchase price per share from $18.20 to $19.00 in cash.

In April, American Greetings said that it agreed to be taken private by a group led by Chief Executive Officer Zev Weiss in a deal valued at about $878 million. Under the deal, American Greetings would be acquired for $18.35 per share by a newly organized entity owned by the Weiss family, including chairman Morry Weiss, CEO Zev Weiss, and director, president and chief operating officer Jeffrey Weiss, as well as related persons and entities.

American Greetings also said in April that its' Class A and B shareholders, excluding the Weiss family, would receive $18.20 per share in cash and a regular quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, if declared by the company's board of directors. Shareholders would thus receive a total cash amount of $18.35 per share if the transaction closes within the targeted closing date of July 2013.

In late September 2012, American Greetings said it received a non-binding proposal to be taken private by the Weiss family for $17.18 per share, in a deal that valued the company at about $530 million. The offer was to acquire the remaining shares in American Greetings that was not owned by the Weiss family. The offer was later raised to $17.50 per share in mid-January.