Rent-Way purchases rentavision chain

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Oct 22, 1999

Pennsylvania-based Rent-Way, Inc., completed its acquisition of Rentavision,the nation's largest independently owned rental purchase chain, in late September. The price for the 250 Rentavision stores was $98 million - $68 million in cash, $24 million in assumed liabilities, and $6 million in shares of Rent-Way stock. The acquisition substantially expands Rent-Way's presence in New York and Pennsylvania and opens up entry into the New England market.

William Morgenstern, chief executive officer of Rent-Way, says he is excited about the new territories and opportunities for growth. "We have met with Rentavision's field operators and they are excited about the new programs and products Rent-Way will offer their customers. Benefits like Lifetime Reinstatement, which allows customers to return merchandise without losing their investment, coupled with our wide selection of name-brand merchandise, will help expand the customer base and the revenue stream generated by the Rentavision stores."

Rentavision, and the star of its television ad campaigns, Buddy the Wonder Dog, have been fixtures in Central New York for years. Bob Natoli started Rentavision in 1984 when he and his wife, Peggy, opened the first store in Oswego.

In the next six years, Natoli opened locations in Cortland, Geneva, and Ogdensburg. Natoli's philosophy of catering to the smalltown market paid off. Fifteen years after he started Rentavision, the company had become the largest independently owned rental-purchase company in the nation, with stores stretching from Maine to North Carolina.

Natoli has mixed emotions about selling the company that he founded 15 years ago and watched grow into an empire. "Certainly, a part of me is pleased at the outcome, but another part of me would like to keep on doing it."

The Rentavision deal is just the last in a series of acquisitions and mergers that has kept Rent-Way steadily expanding over the last two years. In 1998, Rent-Way acquired Fast Rental, an eight-store chain in Georgia and Alabama (for $2.8 million, including the assumption of liabilities), then purchased Cari Rentals, a 23-store chain with locations in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota (for approximately $7 million). In December 1998, Rent-Way continued its expansion by merging with Texas-based Home Choice Holdings and its 440 stores in 23 states. Most recently, the company acquired America's Rent-To-Own Centers, a privately owned chain with 21 stores located throughout the Midwest, for approximately $7 million in shares of Rent-Way's common stock and the assumption of liabilities.

The acquisition of the Rentavision chain gives Rent-Way 1,144 stores in 41 states second only to industry leader Rent-ACenter, which operates 2,126 stores across the country.