Newport Beach-based Engaged Capital LLC renewed its battle against Rent-A-Center Inc. (NASDAQ: RCII). "We are outraged to learn" that the board of directors of Rent-A-Center rejected expressions of takeover interest from two private equity firms that were not disclosed to shareholders, Engaged Capital said in a statement. Rent-A-Center "snubbed" takeover interest from private equity firms HIG Capital and Lone Star Funds before a $15 a share offer from Vintage Capital was rejected earlier this month, Reuters reported yesterday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Engaged Capital won a proxy battle in June to place three nominees onto the seven-member board of directors. The activist investment firm begun in 2012 by Glenn Welling began buying shares late last year of Plano, Texas-based Rent-A-Center and is now its largest shareholder with a 20.5% stake that includes swaps.