Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Rent-A-Center Rebuffs Vintage Capital, Seeks Other Offers
November 9,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Economic News, Industry 
Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ: RCII) has denied Vintage Capital’s request for a 30-day exclusivity period to complete due diligence on the private equity firm’s $13-per-share buyout offer, but stopped short of rejecting the offer itself.
In a letter to Vintage Capital, Rent-A-Center’s board of director said it “remains committed to exploring a broad range of strategic and financial alternatives and ensuring a fair and impartial process to all parties that have expressed an interest in the company to date.”
Vintage’s offer, which came just days after the rent-to-own giant announced it was open to the possibility of a buyout, is worth about $690 million.
If the board had agreed to the exclusivity period, the company wouldn’t have been able to meet with other potential bidders or share confidential financial information with them during that time.
“The Board appreciates Vintage’s interest in the company and looks forward to additional dialogue. Given the early stage of the strategic review and the level of inbound interest from other parties, we do not believe it is in the best interests of our stockholders to enter into an exclusivity agreement with Vintage at this time,” the letter said.
In July, the board rejected an unsolicited $15-per-share buyout offer from Vintage.
Vintage is the majority owner of Florida-based Buddy’s Home Furnishings, the third largest operator of rent-to-own stores.