Engaged Capital’s AUM, Holdings and Performance

2. Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII)

In Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII), Engaged Capital disclosed a $105.29  million position, which contained 8.98 million shares at the end of June. The fund added Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII) to its portfolio in December 2016 and sent a letter to the company, in which it highlighted its underperformance and major setbacks, and suggested that the board should look into finding buyers to take rent-A-Center private. On February 14, Engaged sent another letter, in which it expressed frustration with the board’s unwillingness to act, while a couple of weeks later it sent another letter in which it nominated three directors to be elected to the company’s board. In June, all three of Engaged Capital’s nominees were elected to the board. At the same time, the company’s co-founder and CEO Mark E. Speese was voted off the board, although he remains the CEO and was accused by Engaged on several occasions of trying to maintain the status quo. In April, another activist fund, Mick McGuire‘s Marcato Capital Management, also disclosed a stake and urged for the sale of Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII), having added that it would also back Engaged Capital. At the end of June, Marcato held 682,342 shares of Rent-A-Center, up by 60% on the quarter.