Sale of Factory Card & Party Outlet

FACTORY CARD & PARTY OUTLET
Goldsmith Agio Helms / Lazard Middle Market represented Factory Card & Party Outlet Corporation in its sale to AAH Holdings Corporation, a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners.

TRANSACTION HIGHLIGHTS
AAH acquired all of the outstanding shares of Factory Card for $16.50 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing an enterprise value of approximately $70 million.  The deal price was more than double Factory Card's closing price of $8.05 the day prior to the announcement of the transaction, demonstrating that undervalued, thinly-traded public companies can achieve liquidity and robust valuations for shareholders through synergistic combinations with strategic buyers.

THE COMPANY
Factory Card & Party Outlet, founded in 1989, operates retail party chain stores in the United States. The company’s stores offer party supplies, greeting cards, gift wrap, balloons, everyday and seasonal merchandise, and other special occasion merchandise. As of the closing date, the Company operated 185 company-owned retail stores in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

ABOUT AAH HOLDINGS CORPORATION
AAH Holdings Corporation, a company primarily owned by Berkshire Partners, Weston Presidio and AAH Holdings management, designs, manufactures, and distributes party goods, including paper and plastic tableware, metallic balloons, accessories, novelties, gifts and stationery. AAH Holdings' retail division currently operates more than 428 company-owned stores and has approximately 330 franchise stores in the United States. After giving effect to the acquisition, AAH Holdings' operating units will have annual sales of approximately $1.4 billion. Including the sales of franchisee-owned stores, total network sales will be approximately $2.0 billion. AAH Holdings also operates a division of temporary Halloween stores operating as Halloween USA. For more information, visit www.amscan.com and www.partycity.com.

ABOUT BERKSHIRE PARTNERS
Berkshire Partners has invested in mid-sized private companies for more than 20 years through seven investment funds with aggregate capital commitments of approximately $6.5 billion. Berkshire seeks companies with acquisition values between $200 million and $2.0 billion and in a given transaction makes equity investments of approximately $50 million to $500 million. Berkshire has developed specific industry experience in several areas, including consumer products, retailing, business services, transportation, energy, manufacturing and communications. The firm's transactions have included acquisitions, growth equity investments, and turnarounds in both the U.S. and abroad. Over the past two decades, Berkshire has been an investor in 90 operating companies with more than $19 billion of acquisition value and combined revenues in excess of $21 billion. For additional information, visit www.berkshirepartners.com.

ABOUT LAZARD MIDDLE MARKET
Goldsmith Agio Helms / Lazard Middle Market, a division of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ), provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and financings to the middle market.  Formed in 2007 with the acquisition of Goldsmith Agio Helms, Lazard Middle Market has approximately 90 professionals in Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Shanghai. For more information on Goldsmith Agio Helms / Lazard Middle Market, please visit www.lazardmiddlemarket.com.

If you would like more information about this transaction, contact David Solomon (dsolomon@agio.com) at 212-758-8575 or Craig Korte (ckorte@agio.com) at 312-928-0760.

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