CORT Acquires Aaron Rents Corporate Furnishings Division

Furniture World Magazine

CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company, announced that it has further advanced its leadership of the nation’s furniture rental industry with the acquisition of Aaron Rents Corporate Furnishings Division. The $72 million acquisition, which required federal regulatory approval, was finalized today. Aaron Rents will continue its operations in the “rent to own” furniture category. Since becoming a part of Berkshire Hathaway in February 2000, CORT has continued to increase its share of the furniture rental market through organic growth and acquisitions. The Aaron Rents deal expands CORT’s geographic coverage to more than 70 of the top metropolitan areas in the United States, making CORT the only national furniture rental company. In addition, CORT now offers a broad range of services through its United Kingdom division, Roomservice by CORT, as well as its global affiliate program with representation in more than 50 countries. Along with continued investment in its furniture rental core competency, CORT has also greatly expanded its services to increase value to businesses and individuals in transition. Moving far beyond furniture rental, CORT now offers a wide range of solutions to help corporations recruit and retain top talent, rapidly deploy key employee teams, effectively manage assets, develop continuity and disaster recovery plans and much more. With services including apartment locating, housing and market orientation tours, car rentals, hotel and extended stay reservations, moving and storage solutions, spousal support services, utility connections and renters insurance, CORT can customize programs which make transitions easy through a single point of contact. At a time when many companies are delaying initiatives, CORT is following the strategies espoused by its parent company, Berkshire Hathaway – invest in what is best for the long term value of the company and continue to broaden the differentiation between the company and its competitors. About CORT: For more than 35 years, CORT has been a leading provider in rental furniture and has provided services to more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. CORT has more than 2,500 employees with offices in every major U.S. market. For more information about CORT, visit www.cort.com.