American Greetings PhotoWorks

Everyone loves photos, and they'll put them anywhere. On calendars, mugs, t-shirts, and coasters. Which is why American Greetings Corp. seems so very interested in online photo services that provide ways in which to do all these things with your photos. First Webshots, and now Photoworks, for $26.5 million.

American Greetings will make a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding common shares of PhotoWorks at 59.5 cents per share. The merger is expected to be complete by the end of January, 2008. Whether Webshots and PhotoWorks will eventually be combined into a single service, or simply morphed into American Greetings entirely, is unknown. A complete morphing of services seems unlikely, as Photoworks has additional options such as storefronts for users to sell their work.

But it's clear that American Greetings would like to expand its "greetings" tools to offer better options for gifts, cards, and all the things that go along with special events. And it's looking to do it in a big way. With Webshots having been purchased from CNet and now PhotoWorks under its belt, the plan is to become a leader in the space. Nevertheless, it will still have Cafe Press to contend with.