Vintage Capital withdraws $2.2B offer for Aaron's

NEW YORK (AP) -- Vintage Capital Management said Thursday it is withdrawing its offer to buy retailer Aaron's, citing the company's continued struggles and its decision to buy lease-to-own furniture seller Progressive Finance.

Vintage Capital said it was pulling its offer "in light of the company's recent acquisition of Progressive Finance and continued poor performance." It offered to buy the Atlanta company in February for $30.50 per share, or about $2.2 billion. Aaron's rejected its offer on Tuesday and announced the $700 million acquisition of Progressive Finance.

Vintage is the second-largest holder of Aaron's shares, according to FactSet, with a stake of 7.3 million shares, or about 10.1 percent. It is also one of the largest franchise operators of Aaron's stores. When the offer was announced it came at a 12.7-percent premium to the latest closing price of Aaron's shares.

Aaron's sells and leases furniture and accessories and offers flexible payment plans for people with credit problems. It runs about 2,130 stores in the U.S. and Canada, but its low- to middle-income shoppers are still dealing with difficult economic conditions. The company lowered its guidance on Tuesday and said that in addition to economic concerns, severe winter weather also hurt its sales.

Shares of Aaron's Inc. lost 51 cents to $29.33 in morning trading.