The ongoing battle for ownership of Dollar Thrifty has been stepped up once again.
The Avis Budget group has announced that it has raised the cash portion of its bid for the Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty, intensifying its hostile bidding war with rival Hertz Global Holdings.
Yesterday, Avis declared that it would now be offering $40.75 per share in cash, an increase from its previous bid of $39.25. It has also announced the offering of a revised share component, which will see 0.6543 Avis shares offered for each Dollar Thrifty share, taking the total value of the bid to $1.35 billion. This represents [...]

Investors with the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group have asked for a vote by shareholders over the Hertz takeover bid to be stopped.
The high-profile and protracted bidding war that has waged for months between Hertz and rival Avis, has left investors in the smaller Dollar Thrifty organisation dubious as to whether the company is getting true value for money under the Hertz deal.
Hertz made the initial offer of $1.1 billion back in April, when the troubled Dollar Thrifty shares were low and investors more welcoming of the potential acquisition. The offer also contained several clauses relating to other bidders and termination [...]

Men have dominated the results of the latest survey about British drivers abroad. A new study by leading car hire company Avis has found that when it comes to getting behind the wheel in a foreign country, it is a man’s world, with 94 per cent of British males stating categorically that they wish to be in control. This was compared to just 38 per cent of women saying the same thing.
The biggest fear facing any driver while on holiday was that of getting lost, with both sexes losing their way as often as each other. Sixry-two per cent of drivers [...]

Avis UK is capitalising on the success of its home delivery service.
The leading British car hire company today announced it has extended the ‘Home Delivery’ service to the London.
The move is designed to provide greater convenience to customers based in the capital, with the service allowing users to have their hire vehicle delivered and collected from their doorstep.
The London launch follows on from the successful roll out of the program across the UK earlier this year and will initially be made available from Earls Court, Enfield, Dartford and Croydon. This will allow customers from Maida Vale to Abbey Wood, including [...]

The Avis Budget Group has suffered one of the biggest second-quarter losses on the share market.
The group, which along with Hertz Global Holdings, is involved in the high-profile, protracted bidding war for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group.
The past five months have seen analysts estimates prove to be well off the mark as Avis tumbled more than most registered companies. For second-quarter revenue earnings, Avis shares fell by USD$1.43, or 12 percent, to reach $10.92. This represented the biggest decline in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange since February 18. At the close of business yesterday, Avis shares had dropped [...]

In the period following any potential takeover of Dollar Thrifty, the Hertz group could achieve cost savings of USD$180 according to its CEO.
On Wednesday, mark Frissora claimed during a conference call that the $180 million figure was at the lower end of projections of costs savings’ should the takeover go ahead.
Frissora said that 70 per cent of the total would be made back in the first year after the purchase, adding that Hertz was not in the least bit shy of making such a bold statement and that the returns on the transaction would be rapid. The savings would come [...]

The ongoing takeover speculation is not hurting the balance sheet at Dollar Thrifty.
The group has reported a higher than forecasted quarterly profit, with further growth anticipated for the second half of the year.
As the subject of the high-profile bidding war between Hertz and Avis, Dollar Thrifty has enjoyed the attention to turnaround a first half fall of two per cent into a forecasted rise of four to five per cent for the overall year. Excluding merger-related expenses, Dollar Thrifty expects its adjusted EBITDA to meet the recently raised forecast figure of USD$220 million.
CEO Scott Thompson said that the company had [...]

Hertz Global Holdings has announced that it has been given permission in Canada to proceed with the Dollar Thrifty bid.
Canadian antitrust approval was been granted for the buyout, though Hertz did not say if they would be improving on the higher bid from rival Avis, stating only that the plan was going ahead with completion anticipated in the short, rather than long-term.
The Avis Budget Group last week claimed that it had bettered the original USD$1.2 billion offer from Hertz, although the deal is thought to be below the present market price at Dollar after shares have surged since speculation began. [...]

With the modern commercial emphasis on environmental sustainability, the need to reduce one’s carbon footprint has been more important than ever.
With the fragile state of the planet squarely in mind, Avis Car Rental has been able to make significant reductions in its carbon impact at its KwaZulu-Natal regional depot through the use of recycled water and low-voltage lighting.
Wayne Duvenage, Avis South Africa CEO, said that the company had installed a 15,000 litre water storage reservoir at the vehicle preparation centre which captures all of the run-off rainwater from the group’s buildings. This water is then used in the final water [...]

The ongoing battle for control of Dollar Thrifty has taken another twist.
The dispute, which has seen Hertz, the second largest US car rental company, and Avis, the third largest, locked in an increasing bitter battle for the smaller outfit, has been ongoing since before last Christmas, when Hertz offered the initial USD$1.2 billion bid that sent shockwaves across the American car hire industry.
Now, the Avis Budget Group has announced that it has amended its credit facility in order to secure the necessary financing for a possible takeover of Dollar Thrifty. Recent poor performances on the stock market had meant that [...]