Rental bankers

4 May 2010 By Rolfe Winkler

The two leading Wall Street firms are advising Dollar Thrifty on its $1.3 bln sale to Hertz, which based on all public information looks like a stitchup. A rival willing to pay more says it was never given a chance. The deal looks fishy. Its bankers have some explaining to do.

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On April 26, Hertz Global Holdings agreed to buy smaller rival Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for about $1.3 billion in a deal that will make it the secondbiggest car rental company.

The cash and stock offer, valued at $41 per share on the day it was announced, represented a 5.5 percent premium to Dollar Thrifty's previous closing share price.

On May 4, rival Avis Budget Group said it was interested in making a "substantially higher" offer than Hertz's $1.3 billion bid to acquire Dollar Thrifty, setting the stage for a potential bidding war.

In a letter to the board of Dollar Thrifty, Avis Budget Chief Executive Ronald Nelson said, "We would like to make a substantially higher offer to acquire Dollar Thrifty, especially in light of your recent performance and the potential synergies."

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