American Greetings close to a deal for 400 stores of bankrupt Clinton Cards
04 Jun 2012
The administrators of bankrupt Clinton Cards are expected later this week to announce a deal with American Greetings for the remaining stores of the British card retail chain.
American Greetings, once one of Clinton's main suppliers, will take control of up to 400 stores in a deal where it pays nothing for the stores but runs them as a separate business.
Clinton Cards, which operates 750 stores, had on 9 May, requested the London Stock Exchange to suspend trading of its shares after its banks Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland sold the company's £35 million of loans to Ohio-based American Greetings.
Having secured control of the debt, American Greetings immediately informed the board of Clinton Cards that it intended to call in the loan.
By snapping up Clinton's £35 million bank debt, American Greetings became a preferential creditor giving it a strong position in buying the Loughton, Essex-based company.
American Greetings is not expected to pay anything to the administrator for the stores, according to yesterday report in The Sunday Times.
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