Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) said it will extend to August
its exchange offer to acquire fellow car-rental company Dollar
Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (DTG) amid weak investor
interest.
As of late Friday, a mere 1.01 million shares had been tendered
to the offer and not withdrawn. Dollar Thrifty had about 29 million
shares outstanding as of the end of April. Hertz's offer, which was
intended to expire July 8, will now run to Aug. 5.
In May, Hertz launched an exchange offer directly to Dollar
Thrifty shareholders that valued the company at $2.08 billion, or
$72 a share, and consisted of 80% cash and 20% Hertz stock. It
represented a counter-offer to rival Avis Budget Group's (CAR) own
pursuit of Dollar Thrifty.
Last month, Dollar Thrifty's board, which is cooperating with
both Hertz and Avis, recommended that stockholders not tender their
shares with Hertz. Dollar Thrifty had previously adopted a
shareholder-rights plan, or "poison pill," designed to avert an
undesired takeover from proceeding too quickly.
Shares of Dollar Thrifty closed Friday at $73.95 and were
inactive premarket. The stock is up 56% since the start of the
year. Shares of Hertz, which closed at $16.27, were also
inactive.
-By Mia Lamar, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3207;
mia.lamar@dowjones.com