Rent-A-Center Reaches Sale Agreement

Rent-to-own retailer Rent-A-Center (Plano, Texas) said its board has come to an agreement with Vintage Capital (Orlando, Fla.), which will purchase the company for $800 million, translating to $15 per share. The deal includes the retailer’s debt, but in total it represents a $1.37 billion deal.

The announcement comes nearly a year after the company’s board rejected Vintage Capital’s offer for $13 per share last fall. Last week Vintage Capital offered $14 per share for the company, but the board rejected that offer as well. Upping the ante to $15 per share, the board approved the deal unanimously. After the news broke, shares for Rent-A-Center gained 22 percent, closing at $14.68 per share, reports The Dallas Morning News.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, and shareholders will receive cash for their shares. Rent-A-Center had $2.7 billion in sales last year, though Atlanta-based Aaron’s is the largest rent-to-own retailer with sales of $3.38 billion in 2017. Rent-A-Center operates 2,287 stores in the U.S. and just over a hundred in Mexico.