Pawn shop operator and payday lender Cash America International Inc. is buying 34 pawn lending locations from PawnMart Inc. for about $62 million to help expand its presence in Georgia and North Carolina.
Cash America makes money from loans to consumers, from service fees and from selling jewelry, electronics and other goods in its pawn shops.
The deal includes 31 locations in Georgia and three in North Carolina, which operate mostly under the PawnMart brand. Cash America currently has 17 pawn lending locations in Georgia and 16 in North Carolina.
The 34 sites being acquired had about $10.7 million in pawn loan balances as of Dec. 31.
Fort Worth, Texas-based Cash America said Wednesday that it anticipates the acquisition will add to its earnings immediately after closing. The closing is expected to be in the fourth quarter.
Last month Cash America reported that its second-quarter profit fell because of lower demand for loans from consumers. Its performance missed Wall Street's view, and the company also cut its full-year earnings outlook again and provided a third-quarter earnings forecast below analysts' estimates.
As of June 30, it operated out of 964 locations overall.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Its shares finished at $41.56 on Tuesday. That's down 23 percent from its 52-week high of $54.12 set March 8. Its shares fell as low as $34.21 in mid-November 2012.
