ATLANTA - Feb. 21, 2014 // PRNewswire // - Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), a leader in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, today provided a shareholder update with respect to the publicly filed letter to the Aaron's Board of Directors from Mr. Brian Kahn, the Managing Member of Vintage Capital Management, LLC ("Vintage").
The Company notes that Mr. Kahn, a former franchisee of Aaron's, and Vintage, which is a controlling person of Buddy's Home Furnishings, a small rent-to-own business that competes with Aaron's, have over the years made unfunded and unspecific non-binding proposals to acquire Aaron's. Members of the Aaron's Board and management team have met with Mr. Kahn on a number of occasions to listen to his proposals. A Transaction Committee of the Company's Board of Directors, consisting of independent outside directors, with the aid of its professional advisors, will carefully review and evaluate the letter from Vintage and will provide its recommendation to the Board in due course.
The Board is highly confident that the continued execution of the Company's strategy will enhance long-term shareholder value and has recently approved management's 2014 Business Plan. Aaron's remains firmly committed to creating value for its shareholders, as evidenced by recent actions authorized by the Board of Directors and executed by management:
Aaron's today filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing certain amendments to the Company's bylaws that Aaron's believes are appropriate and in the best interests of the Company's shareholders.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP is serving as lead legal advisor and The Blackstone Group is serving as financial advisor to Aaron's.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this news release regarding Aaron's, Inc.'s business that 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, litigation, customer privacy, information security, customer demand and other issues, and the risks and uncertainties discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013. Statements in this release that are "forward-looking" include without limitation statements regarding Aaron's 2014 business plan."
Gilbert L. Danielson
Executive Vice President
Chief Financial Officer
404-231-0011
Steve Frankel
Tim Lynch
Joele Frank
Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449
SOURCE Aaron's, Inc.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron's, Inc. is the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories.