PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a
cash dividend of $0.08 per share payable on the Common Stock and $0.04 per
share payable on the Class A Common Stock. Payment will be made on June 5,
2007 to shareholders of record on May 25, 2007.
The amount of the dividend is less than the amount of prior quarterly
cash dividends because the declaration and record dates for the dividend
have been accelerated from recent practice as a result of the proposed
closing date for the merger with an affiliate of Apollo Management, L.P.
The parties currently expect the merger to close in the last week of
May 2007, assuming the approval of the merger agreement by the Company's
shareholders at the special meeting of shareholders to be held on May 24,
2007. The proposed closing date is approximately one month earlier than the
timing contemplated by the merger agreement if the buyer would have
exercised its right to delay the closing to permit a marketing period
related to its debt financing subsequent to the shareholder meeting.
Important Legal Information:
In connection with the proposed merger of the Company with an affiliate
of Apollo Management, L.P. (the "merger"), the Company has filed with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and mailed to the
shareholders of the Company a definitive proxy statement and a supplement
thereto (the "proxy statement"). Before making any voting decision, the
Company's shareholders are urged to read the proxy statement regarding the
merger carefully and in its entirety because it contains important
information about the proposed merger. The Company's shareholders may
obtain, without charge, additional copies of the proxy statement and other
relevant documents filed with the SEC from the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov. The Company's shareholders may also obtain, without
charge, a copy of the proxy statement and other relevant documents (when
available) by directing a request to the Company's proxy solicitation
agent, D.F. King & Co., Inc., toll-free at (888) 869-7406. The Company and
its directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the
solicitation of proxies from the Company's shareholders with respect to the
proposed merger. Information about the Company's directors and executive
officers and their ownership of the Company's common stock is set forth in
the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January
28, 2006 and the Company's proxy statement for the Company's 2006 Annual
Meeting of Shareholders. Shareholders may obtain additional information
regarding the interests of the Company and its directors and executive
officers in the merger, which may be different than those of the Company's
shareholders generally, by reading the proxy statement and other relevant
documents regarding the proposed merger filed with the SEC.
Company Overview
Claire's Stores, Inc. is a leading international specialty retailer
offering value-priced costume jewelry and accessories to fashion-aware
tweens, teens and young adult females through its two store concepts:
Claire's and Icing by Claire's. While the latter operates only in North
America, Claire's operates internationally. As of May 5, 2007, Claire's
Stores, Inc. operated approximately 3,000 stores in the United States,
Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland,
France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the
Netherlands. Claire's Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary,
Claire's Nippon, Co., Ltd., approximately 205 stores in Japan as a 50:50
joint venture with AEON, Co., Ltd. (fka JUSCO, Co. Ltd.), a $40 billion
specialty retailer headquartered in Japan. The Company also licenses
approximately 135 stores in the Middle East, Turkey and Russia under a
licensing and merchandising agreement with Al Shaya Co., Ltd. and eight
stores in South Africa under similar agreements with The House of Busby
Limited.
Additional Information:
Note: Other Claire's Stores, Inc. press releases, a corporate profile
and most recent 10-K and 10-Q reports are available via Claire's corporate
website: http://www.clairestores.com. For information about our products
and stores, please go to http://www.claires.com.
SOURCE Claire's Stores, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.clairestores.com/
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/174913.html /
CONTACT:
Marisa F. Jacobs, Esq., Vice President of
Corporate Communications and Investor Relations of Claire's
Stores, Inc., +1-212-594-3127, Fax +1-212-244-4237,
marisa.jacobs@claires.com
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