John Robinson

Rent-to-own (RTO) heavyweight Aaron's Inc. announced Tuesday it has acquired Progressive Finance Holdings, a provider of point-of-sale lease and purchase programs for consumers who don't qualify for traditional financing. Aaron's said the all-cash, $700 million purchase gives the company access to the rapidly growing "virtual" RTO market, and should boost earnings per share by double-digits this year. John Robinson, Progressive's CEO, will join Aaron's management team as executive vice president and report to Aaron's CEO Ronald Allen.