Hertz is nearing an agreement to acquire Dollar Thrifty for around USD$2.5 billion, sources familiar budget car truck rentals tucson az with the matter said, potentially budget car truck rentals tucson az ending budget car truck rentals tucson az years of an on-again-off-again takeover battle budget car truck rentals tucson az involving the US rental car companies.
The price would represent a premium of around 8 percent to Dollar Thrifty's Friday closing price of USD$81 per share, and more than double than the USD$1.2 billion offer Hertz started off with in April 2010.
A combination of Hertz and Dollar Thrifty would end a protracted and contentious takeover saga in which Avis Budget also tried to acquire Dollar Thrifty, budget car truck rentals tucson az the fourth-largest car rental company in the United States.
Hertz, the number two US car rental budget car truck rentals tucson az company, and third-ranked Avis have made several offers for Dollar Thrifty in the past few years, but the process has been stalled by disagreements over price and doubts over whether its larger rivals can get regulatory clearance for a merger.
A Dollar budget car truck rentals tucson az Thrifty purchase by Hertz would leave the merged company, Avis Budget and privately held Enterprise budget car truck rentals tucson az -- the number one car rental company -- controlling budget car truck rentals tucson az about 95 percent of the US car rental market.
Hertz has agreed to sell its budget brand Advantage, which caters to the same market as Dollar Thrifty, and said earlier this month that it remains in talks with the Federal Trade Commission to win regulatory approval for a potential merger.
Avis dropped out of the race for Dollar Thrifty last year after it bought Avis Europe for about USD$1 billion. Hertz put its offer on hold around the same time, saying it would wait for antitrust approval before making a final bid.
But Dollar Thrifty, budget car truck rentals tucson az the last big prize in an industry that has consolidated rapidly in recent years, urged Hertz earlier this month to put an end to the years of fruitless takeover offers by making a compelling bid or letting it proceed as a standalone company.
Several budget car truck rentals tucson az major Dollar Thrifty shareholders told reporters earlier this week that they would accept a takeover offer from Hertz that values the company at more than USD$87 per share, or USD$2.4 billion.
At one point during the financial crisis in 2008, Hertz offered to buy Dollar Thrifty for USD$2 per share. The car rental industry, tied closely to airline traffic and hotel bookings, has since experienced strengthening demand due to recovering business travel in the United States budget car truck rentals tucson az and shares of car rental companies have rallied sharply in recent years.
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