Aaron’s, Inc. has acquired substantially all of the assets of its largest franchisee, SEI/Aaron’s, Inc., in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $140 million.
SEI was founded in 1995 and currently serves more than 90,000 customers through 104 Aaron’s stores in 11 states, primarily in the Northeast, according to the company.
“We’re excited to bring the SEI team and stores into the Aaron’s organization,” said John Robinson, CEO, Aaron’s. “Founder Charles Smithgall, CEO Chas Smithgall and SEI’s president and COO, Dave Edwards, have built an outstanding business over the last 22 years, with a deep leadership team and strong profitability.”
“The acquisition will strengthen Aaron’s presence in highly attractive markets,” added Douglas Lindsay, president of Aaron’s. “I am especially pleased that Dave Edwards, who has led SEI’s operations for over 15 years, will be joining the Aaron’s team. SEI has consistently been one of our top performing franchisees. Our omnichannel platform should benefit from added scale, and we believe there are opportunities for revenue and cost improvement as we leverage our existing competitive advantages and apply SEI’s best-in-class operating strategies. In addition, we expect the purchase will enhance our ability to drive inventory supply-chain synergies between the Aaron’s Business and Progressive Leasing in markets that SEI currently serves.”
Aaron’s, Inc. operates 1,770 company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states.
