Stockholders Claim Victory in Hertz Bankruptcy Auction

In a bankruptcy auction held Tuesday, May 11, Hertz Global Holdings chose Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management to buy the company out of Chapter 11. The deal gives the new Hertz an enterprise value of $7.43 billion. The bankruptcy court has approved the auction.

To provide equity capital for Hertz’s exit from bankruptcy exit, Hertz chose the Knighthead group over a competing offer led by Centerbridge Partners, Warburg Pincus and Dundon Capital Partners, according to the report.

Shareholders will reportedly receive close to $8 a share distribution, which amounts to warrants for close to 20% of the reorganized company. According to a tweet from Scott Wapner of CNBC, one shareholder told him the outcome and relief is “truly historic” for existing shareholders.

As of May 19, Hertz’s stock (now trading under HTZGQ) was at $5.76 a share in midday trading. At this time last year, the stock was at $2.96.

Hertz garnered intense scrutiny from the investment community when retail traders on the Robinhood app sent shares skyrocketing nearly 900% in the weeks following the company’s bankruptcy in May 2020.

Professional investors were puzzled by unsophisticated traders buying common shares of a debt-riddled bankrupt company. If history held, shareholders would realize nothing on their investments once Hertz exited bankruptcy.

A tweet by “zerohedge” summed up the mood today: “The Robinhooders were right.”