ATLANTA, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aaron Rents, Inc. (NYSE: RNT),
the nation's leader in the rental, sales and lease ownership, and specialty
retailing of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics and home
appliances and accessories, has announced the acquisition of nine Aaron's
Sales & Lease Ownership franchised stores located in the state of Michigan.
"These stores are good performing stores and we are pleased to turn them
into Company-operated stores," said R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr., Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Aaron Rents. "With this acquisition we will
increase the number of Company-operated stores currently open in Michigan to
18."
The stores were purchased from Great Lakes R & P, LLC, an Aaron's Sales &
Lease Ownership franchisee since 1996. After this sale, Doug Denboer, one of
the partners of Great Lakes, will continue to personally operate two Aaron's
Sales & Lease Ownership franchised stores and has entered into a new area
development agreement to open an additional four more stores in Michigan over
the next thirty-six months. The current annual revenue of the acquired stores
is approximately $10.9 million and, subject to final adjustments, the
acquisition was for $8.9 million cash.
"As has happened in the past on several occasions and for various reasons,
some of our franchisees have decided it is in their best interests to sell
some of their stores to the Company and then go forward and develop new
additional territories," Mr. Loudermilk continued. "The desire to continue as
a franchisee and open additional stores is an indication of the strength of
our Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership program."
Aaron Rents, Inc. based in Atlanta, currently has more than 1,000 Company-
operated and franchised stores in 45 states, Canada, 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.
"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
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These
risks and uncertainties include factors such as changes in general economic
conditions, competition, pricing, customer demand and other issues, and the
risks and uncertainties discussed under "Certain Factors Affecting Forward
Looking Statements" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal
2003, which discussion is incorporated herein by this reference.
SOURCE Aaron Rents, Inc.
12/23/2004
CONTACT: Gilbert L. Danielson, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer of Aaron Rents, Inc., +1-404-231-0011, ext. 3314
Web site: http://www.aaronrents.com
(RNT)