ATLANTA, July 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aaron Rents, Inc. (NYSE: RNT),
the nation's leader in the sales and lease ownership, specialty retailing and
rental of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics, home
appliances and accessories, today announced the acquisition of 37 rental
stores through three different transactions.
During the month of June the Company purchased three stores in Texas from
two different owners, three stores in Las Vegas from Rosey Rentals, LP, and on
July 1 acquired an additional 31 stores from Rosey Rentals, LP, these stores
being located in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma,
and Tennessee. The Rosey Rentals stores were formerly owned by Paradise
Valley Holdings, Inc., 30 of which were operating as Ace TV Rentals and four
as Choice Rent-to-Own. All of the acquisitions were asset purchases for cash.
"We are very pleased to make these acquisitions and plan to aggressively
pursue further transactions as they become available," said R. Charles
Loudermilk, Sr. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aaron Rents. "Our
growth strategy includes the continued opening of new Company-operated and
franchised Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership stores, as well as expanding in
both new and existing markets with opportunistic acquisitions."
Of the 37 stores acquired, 19 will become new Aaron's Sales & Lease
Ownership stores with the remaining 18 stores being merged into existing
Aaron's locations.
"Although the effect of these acquisitions on earnings the remainder of
2003 is not expected to be significant, these additional stores and rental
volume should be accretive to earnings during 2004," Mr. Loudermilk continued.
Aaron Rents will release its second quarter earnings after the close of
the market on July 29, 2003. The Company will hold a conference call to
discuss its quarterly financial results on Wednesday, July 30, 2003, at 10:00
am Eastern Time. The public is invited to listen in to the conference call by
webcast accessible through the Company's website, www.aaronrents.com, in the
"Investor Relations" section. The webcast will be archived for playback at
that same site.
Aaron Rents, Inc., based in Atlanta, currently has more than 760 Company-
operated and franchised stores across the United States and Puerto Rico for
the rental and sale of residential and office furniture, accessories, consumer
electronics and household appliances. The Company also manufactures
furniture, bedding and accessories at 10 facilities in four states.
Note: Forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current
expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results
may vary materially from the expectations due to such factors as changes in
general economic conditions, competition, pricing, customer demand and other
issues.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements in this news release regarding Aaron Rents, Inc.'s
business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that
involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ
from those contained in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of
such risks and uncertainties, see "Certain Factors Affecting Forward Looking
Statements" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2002, which
discussion is incorporated herein by this reference.
SOURCE Aaron Rents, Inc.
CONTACT: Gilbert L. Danielson, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer of Aaron Rents, Inc., +1-404-231-0011/
/Web site: http://www.aaronrents.com /
(RNT)