American Greetings, WHSmith and Card Factory eye Clinton Cards The UK's biggest retailer of greeting cards collapsed on Wednesday, threatening 8,000 jobs. The move came after Clintons' main lenders, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, sold £40m of the company's debts to its largest supplier, American Greetings. A source close to the administration said: "American Greetings has been painted as the bad guy in this, when all it has done is secure its market position and income stream over the next five to 10 years. In fact, it could potentially be the saviour of Clinton Cards. Clintons' business is worth £8m to £10m to American Greetings. It is thought the Ohio-based company may emerge as the new owner of a resized Clintons with the number of stores cut from 750 shops to around 350. But interest has also been shown by high street stationer WHSmith, Card Factory and Opcapita - new owner of the embattled Game Group. It is thought trade bidders such as Card Factory are eager to purchase the business to "neuter" competition. According to sources close to Clintons' board, the company was considering all possible options to preserve stores and jobs, and a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) was still on the table when American Greetings intervened. One retail expert said: "The board were gobsmacked when American Greetings played its hand but there's no way the lenders would get 95p in the pound in any other scenario. The only winners here are the banks.