Aaron Rents said today that if the sale of Rainbow Rentals (RBOW) to Rent-A-Center Inc. (RCII) goes through as announced yesterday, Aaron Rents will realize an approximate $5.5 million, or $.10 per share, gain on the sale of the Rainbow Rentals stock the Company acquired in 2002 and early 2003. At press time, Aaron's stock was up 5% on the day (RNT) .

Rent-A-Center announced on February 4, 2004 it had entered into an agreement with Rainbow Rentals to acquire that company for $16.00 cash per share, with closing anticipated in the second quarter of 2004. Aaron Rents is not a party to the agreement between Rainbow Rentals and Rent-A-Center, and the closing of that transaction is subject to all of the closing conditions of that agreement.

Aaron Rents currently holds 474,500 shares of Rainbow Rentals stock, or 8% of all shares outstanding. The stock was acquired in three separate purchases, 150,000 shares at $4.75 per share in August 2002, 150,000 shares at $4.45 per share in September 2002, and an additional 174,500 shares at $4.05 per share in January 2003, and was held by the Company for investment purposes.

With this expected gain, the Company is increasing its earnings guidance for fiscal year 2004 from a range of $1.27 to $1.32 to a range of $1.37 to $1.42 per share.

Aaron Rents will announce its fourth quarter and full year results for 2003 on February 24, and will hold a conference call to discuss its quarterly and full year financial results on Wednesday, February 25, 2004, at 10:30 am Eastern Time. The public is invited to listen in to the call by webcast accessible through My RTO Portfolio.