AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- EZCORP, Inc.
(Nasdaq: EZPW) announced today that it has acquired substantially
all of the assets of Cash Converters United LC, including seven
stores in Virginia and
Pennsylvania and the franchise
rights to use the Cash Converters brand and name in several other
states.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090713/EZCORPLOGO)
The acquired stores operate the Cash Converters buy/sell model
rather than the pawn model used in EZCORP's other U.S. stores.
EZCORP will continue to operate the stores using the Cash
Converters brand and format. The acquired franchise rights include
the exclusive right to develop Cash Converters stores in
Virginia, North Florida and Eastern Pennsylvania, as well as a right of
first refusal to acquire the Cash Converters franchise rights in
the District of Columbia and 17
other states in the East, South, Midwest and Southwest.
Eric Fosse, EZCORP's President of
North American Operations, stated: "This is a strategically
important acquisition for several reasons. First, it gives us
an immediate footprint in a new geographic area of operations.
This area nicely complements our existing operations in
Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, allowing us to leverage our
existing management infrastructure. Second, it kicks off our
utilization of the Cash Converters brand and the buy/sell format in
the United States, a strategy we
have been pursuing in Canada for
several months now with positive results. And third, it
provides us with access to additional opportunities to expand our
presence, under the Cash Converters brand, across the U.S."
The acquisition was completed on October
12, 2011.
About EZCORP
EZCORP is a leading provider of specialty consumer financial
services. It provides collateralized non- recourse loans,
commonly known as pawn loans, and a variety of short-term consumer
loans, including payday loans, installment loans and auto title
loans, or fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans.
At its pawn stores, the company also sells merchandise,
primarily collateral forfeited from its pawn lending
operations.
EZCORP operates more than 1,000 pawn, buy/sell and personal
financial services stores in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The company also has significant
investments in Albemarle & Bond Holdings PLC (ABM.L), one of
the U.K.'s largest pawnbroking businesses with over 160 full-line
stores offering pawnbroking, jewelry retailing, gold buying and
financial services; and in Cash Converters International Limited
(CCV.L and CCV.AUS), which franchises and operates a worldwide
network of over 600 stores that provide personal financial services
and sell pre-owned merchandise.
EZCORP Investor Relations
(512) 314-2220
investor_relations@ezcorp.com
SOURCE EZCORP, Inc.