A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc. Files Registration Statement for Public Offering of 2,550,000 Shares of Common Stock

Business Wire, Jan 10, 2002

Business Editors

BLACKWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2002

A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACMR) announced today that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed underwritten public offering of 2,550,000 shares of its common stock through an underwriting group led by Adams, Harkness & Hill, Inc. and co-managed by Fahnestock & Co. Inc. and Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc. In the offering, 1,750,000 shares will be offered by the Company and 800,000 shares will be offered by selling stockholders. The selling shareholders have also granted to the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 382,500 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.

A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc. is a specialty retailer offering a broad selection of arts, crafts and floral merchandise. The Company operates 61 stores located in the eastern United States, from New England to the Carolinas.

When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Adams, Harkness & Hill, Inc., 60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, Fahnestock & Co. Inc.,125 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004 and Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc., 1000 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90017.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement has become effective. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of the Company's common stock. There shall not be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of applicable federal securities laws and are based on A.C. Moore's current expectations and assumptions as of this date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether the result of new developments or otherwise. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, customer demand and trends in the arts and crafts industry, related inventory risks due to shifts in customer demand, the effect of economic conditions, weather, the impact of competitors' locations or pricing, the availability of acceptable real estate locations for new stores, difficulties with respect to new system technologies, supply constraints or difficulties, the effectiveness of advertising strategies and other risks detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.