US: Rent-A-Center settles with Vintage Capital

Rent-A-Center said Monday, April 22, it will be paid US$92.5 million as part of an agreement to end litigation over the Plano-based rent-to-own retailer’s surprise termination of its pending merger with Vintage Capital last year.

The agreement in principle to settle litigation with Vintage Capital and its financial partner B. Riley Financial will end a dispute that started last December.

Rent-A-Center terminated a pending merger after Vintage didn’t present it with an extension letter. The battle quickly moved into court. A Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in March that Rent-A-Center’s merger termination was valid even though Vintage showed that the two had agreed that the merger wouldn’t be completed until 2019 due to the both sides continuing to work on the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust review.

“We are pleased to finally conclude this matter, avoiding further litigation and providing certainty regarding payment of the termination fee,” Mitch Fadel, Rent-A-Center CEO, said in a statement. “We look forward to turning our sole and undivided attention to executing our strategic plan focused on growing our business and enhancing value for our stockholders.”