Thomas Nelson to Explore Strategic Alternatives for C.R. Gibson

Posted on April 25, 2001

Thomas Nelson, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors is exploring various strategic alternatives, including the possible merger, sale or recapitalization of its wholly-owned subsidiary, The C.R. Gibson Company. C.R. Gibson, founded in 1870, is a designer, marketer and distributor of photo albums, memory books (such as baby and wedding books) and premium stationery. Thomas Nelson recently has decided to focus on its core publishing business.

Joseph Moore, President of C.R. Gibson, said, ``C.R. Gibson is one of the most respected brands of memory products in the gift industry. Since its acquisition by Thomas Nelson in 1995, we have consolidated the stationery and gift operations and better positioned the business to achieve sustainable growth.''

Moore continued, ``Over the past few years we have sharpened our focus in the product areas where we are a market leader -- particularly in the baby and wedding categories where our memory products are marketed under the C.R. Gibson name and in the premium stationery category, where our products are marketed under the name Creative Papers. We remain committed to providing superior products and service to our growing number of national chain and independent retail customers.''

Thomas Nelson emphasized that no decision has been made to enter into any transaction or as to what form a transaction might take. Thomas Nelson, Inc. is a leading publisher, producer and distributor of books emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes, and believes it is the largest publisher of Bibles and inspirational books in the English language.