Hertz to Acquire Dollar Thrifty for $1.2 Billion

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. announced Sunday that it would acquire Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for $1.2 billion in cash and stock.

The deal will give Hertz an additional 1,550 locations and a total of 9,800 worldwide.

Under the terms of the deal, Hertz will pay $41 a share, a 19 percent premium over Dollar Thrifty’s 30-day average stock price. The offer is 80 percent cash and 20 percent stock.

Dollar Thrifty will pay out a $200 million special cash dividend to its shareholders, worth $6.88 a share. Hertz will also pay $25.92 a share as a cash payout after the deal’s closing.

"Combining Hertz and Dollar Thrifty is an excellent strategic fit,” said Mark P. Frissora, Hertz's chairman and chief executive officer. “Together we will be able to compete even more effectively and efficiently against other multi-brand car rental companies, offering customers a full range of rental options in the U.S. between the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Advantage brands.

“Financially, we believe the deal is attractive, accretive to earnings and structured to maintain Hertz's strong credit profile. We've identified at least $180 million of synergies already, primarily in fleet, IT systems and procurement, enabling our companies to operate at an even lower cost,” Frissora said.

Scott L. Thompson, Dollar Thrifty's president and chief executive officer, said, "The combination of Dollar Thrifty with a larger company like Hertz will provide Dollar Thrifty with greater resources and the technology needed to expand our value focused leisure brands. We see the combination of our brands with Hertz's brands as very compelling.

“We remain committed to our shareholders to run the company in their best interests pending the closing of the transaction. We also remain committed to lead Dollar Thrifty as a standalone company in the event the transaction does not close,” he added.
 
Thompson said Hertz's integration plans are in the preliminary stages and he couldn't speculate on how the acquisition would impact Dollar Thrifty's work force in Tulsa or Oklahoma City, Okla.