Monday, May 13, 2013
Cleveland-based business has plans to build corporate headquarters in Westlake.
The American Greetings saga took a new turn last week after it was reported the company has cut 2,100 jobs since 2012, according to The Plain Dealer. After the company's fiscal year closed on Feb. 28 of this year, it had "1,500 fewer full-time and 600 fewer part-time workers than the company reported at the end of its 2012 fiscal year," The Plain Dealer reports. These cuts may have been a big reason why the company posted nearly $48 million in profits in the final quarter. READ THE FULL STORY HERE The company was recently purchased and made private. Construction on the site of the future headquarters in Westlake began moving forward in early April after a delay last November.
Monday, April 1, 2013
As company moves forward with world headquarters in Westlake, founding family makes bid to buy back publicly traded company.
Cleveland-based American Greetings, which is building its world headquarters in Westlake, will return to its founding family in a $878 million deal. The company, which trades publicly under the symbol “AM,” will be purchased by the Weiss family, including the company's Chairman, Morry Weiss; sons Zev Weiss (director and chief executive officer) and Jeffrey Weiss (director, president and chief operating officer), according to a press release issued by the company. The deal still requires board approval. If approved non-family shareholders will receive $18.20 a share. The stock opened at $16.10 Monday morning. The Weiss Family initially proposed to acquire the Company on Sept. 25, 2012, not long after the company announced a move to Westlake…
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Clough talks business growth, city projects and elections
While 2012 didn't end exactly the way Westlake mayor Dennis Clough anticipated, as American Greetings put the brakes on the construction of its planned Crocker Park world headquarters, he's not letting that get in the way of his optimism for 2013. "There's going to be a lot going on around town," he said in a recent interview. Clough has said that he remains optimistic that the American Greetings project will happen. He said that business news around town is good. Hyland Software is building a new building on the former Nordson property. That project could bring as many as 600 new jobs to Westlake. It is expected to be open later this year. Equity Trust is expected to move to Westlake sometime in 2013. That move benefits the city two ways…
Monday, December 17, 2012
City left waiting on building of new American Greetings project at Crocker Park
Westlake mayor Dennis Clough has two words for people worried about the future of the American Greetings world headquarters planned for Crocker Park. Don't be. "As far as I'm concerned, this delay is temporary," Clough said. "I'm pretty optimistic this will happen, and it will be even bettwe and more exciting than we anticipated." American Greetings announced Nov. 28 that it was delaying the construction of the new world headquarters while it was dealing with a proposal by the Weiss family to take the company private. Clough said he has received assurances from American Greetings that the project will go forward as soon as the privatization matter is settled. He added that the company is continuing design work on the world headquarters …
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Here's what got you reading and talking this past week
American Greetings announced it's delaying the start of construction of its planned world headquarters at Crocker Park while the company considers a buyout offer from the Weiss family that would take the company private. The announcement came one day after the city cancelled a Committee of the Whole meeting where the hiring of a contractor for the city's part of the project was expected to be sent to City Council for approval at its Dec. 6 meeting. Daniel Jung, the Westlake man who ran over and killed his father and injured his mother in 2004, was arrested Thursday and accused of trying to set fire to his brother's garage. Jung had been living at the Woodpath Trail home since July, when he was released from prison. A Rite-Aid employee and …
Friday, November 30, 2012
Westlake was close to starting its work on the Crocker Park project
After a few months of lots of stuff going on in regards to the American Greetings world headquarters project at Crocker Park, City of Westlake officials find themselves without much to do now. American Greetings announced on Wednesday that it is putting the brakes on the project as the company considers a buyout by the Weiss family which would take the company private. City leaders seem to be taking this setback calmly, as it happened before bonds were issued and construction work began. Much of the work at this stage of the project would be handled by the engineering and finance departments. But without a contractor approved, the city's finance department cannot sell bonds and arrange financing for the project. Engineering, however, can …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
City waits on decision about American Greetings going private
Latest delay in construction brings questions
In the past few months, it looked like the American Greetings world headquarters project at Crocker Park was finally moving forward. This past summer, more than a year after announcing it was moving to Westlake, American Greetings submitted its plans, which were approved by Westlake City Council in September. Bids for the contractor that would handle the city's share of the project -- including streets, water and sewer lines and parking -- were accepted and being looked over. Then came Wednesday's announcement by American Greetings that the project is being delayed because of a proposed buyout by the Weiss family that would take the company private. Stark Enterprises, which owns Crocker Park, says it intends to carry on with the project. …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Company halting construction plans in face of buyout offer by Weiss family
Updated 7:49 p.m. A possible buyout of American Greetings by the Weiss family is putting the brakes on the planned building of its new world headquarters at Crocker Park, the Plain Dealer reported Wednesday. The news comes one day after the city cancelled a Committee of the Whole meeting to discuss the hiring of a contractor for the project. That was when city leaders got wind that this was about to happen, said Ward 6 councilman Mark Getsay. "Given the complexity of this kind of a situation, possibly taking a public company private, I'm not overly surprised they're doing this," said Getsay, a certified public accountant. According to Crain's Cleveland Business, the company stated that it still intends to go ahead with the project and that…
City leaders may try again as early as Monday to get the contractor plan ready for vote by Council
Just as there appeared to be progress towards approving a contractor for the American Greetings world headquarters project at Crocker Park, things have stalled. Tuesday evening's scheduled meeting of the Committee of the Whole -- which includes Mayor Dennis Clough, City Council and city department heads -- to discuss hiring a contractor for the city's share of the project was cancelled just after noon on Tuesday. "We're still on hold in terms of all the agreements," said city engineer Robert Kelly. It's not just the city involved, Kelly explained, there are three major players: American Greetings and Crocker Park as well as the city. All of them must agree on the deal and the contractor. All three have their own concerns. And all three …
ian king
12:20 am on Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Amazed at how American Greetings - not the greatest company to work for if you ask former employees, and especially when compared to what Hallmark contributes to Kansas City and what AG doesn't contribute to Cleveland - can manipulate both the state and Westlake govt. officials. Why is some accountability not being asked of AG? We the citizens of Ohio provided AG a package of grants, loans and … more ›