AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- EZCORP, Inc.
(Nasdaq: EZPW) announced today that it has acquired fifteen pawn
stores located in the greater San
Antonio metropolitan area. The stores were part of the
Money Mart chain of pawn stores, one of the larger and most
profitable privately owned pawn store chains in the country.
The purchase price was paid in cash.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090713/EZCORPLOGO)
Eric Fosse, EZCORP's President of
North American Operations, stated: "San Antonio is one of the most attractive
metropolitan areas for the pawn business. We were already the
number one pawn operator in the San
Antonio area with 22 stores. This acquisition brings
our total store count to 37, and clearly solidifies our leadership
in this important geographic area."
Mr. Fosse continued: "Money Mart had established a very
successful operation, with well-run stores in attractive, strategic
locations. We believe we can further improve the
profitability of these stores by leveraging our existing regional
management and support infrastructure and introducing ancillary
products to their pawn-only model. In short, we are very
excited about the addition of these stores to our growing portfolio
of pawn operations."
The acquisition was completed on November
4, 2011, and is expected to be immediately accretive to
EZCORP's earnings.
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 1,100 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.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements
regarding the Company's expected performance in future periods,
including the anticipated performance of the newly acquired stores.
These statements are based on the Company's current
expectations. Actual results for future periods may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements due to a number of uncertainties and other factors,
including changing market conditions in the overall economy and the
industry, consumer demand for the Company's services and
merchandise and changes in the regulatory environment. For a
discussion of these and other factors affecting the Company's
business and prospects, see the Company's annual, quarterly and
other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
EZCORP Investor Relations
(512) 314-2220
investor_relations@ezcorp.com
SOURCE EZCORP, Inc.