J Capital short Aaron’s, thinks regulators could slow or stop go-private deal

J Capital issued a short report in which it tells investors that the firm believes regulators could slow or stop the go-private deal The Aaron’s Company (AAN) has made. “Currently, the AAN share price has not factored in this regulatory risk… We submitted Whistleblower reports on AAN to the FTC and the CFPB. We also submitted FOIA requests to both agencies. Both agencies tend to be highly suspicious of rent-to-own and payday lending practices. The other lender apparently behind the deal, CCF Holdings LLC, recently appears to have acquired several similar companies, including the chairman’s former company, TMX Finance Ltd, as well as Speedy Cash, Rapid Cash, and Avio Credit. With AAN stores, CCF would own around 3,000 locations, giving them a much larger share of a fragmented market. A combination could trigger anti-monopoly and predatory-lending reviews,” the firm stated.