Activist investor Engaged Capital LLC of Newport Beach won its proxy battle against Rent-A-Center Inc. by gaining three seats on its board of directors.
Jeffrey J. Brown, Mitchell E. Fadel, and Christopher B. Hetrick were “overwhelmingly” elected to the seven-member board at the shareholders’ annual meeting, Engaged Capital said, citing preliminary results.
They replaced three existing members, including Rent-A-Center founder Mark Speese, who’ll continue as chief executive.
Engaged Capital, which holds 17% of Rent-A-Center shares, wanted the board to explore all options, including a possible sale to a larger competitor.
Speese, who started the company in 1986 and took back the reins as chief executive in January, was pitching his own turnaround plan that didn’t include a sale.
“The board must adopt a strategy that creates the optimal risk-adjusted outcome for all stockholders after all options are thoroughly explored,” Engaged Capital founder and Chief Investment Officer Glenn W. Welling said in a statement.
— Peter J. Brennan
