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Empresas y finanzas

Hertz near $2.5 billion deal to buy Dollar Thrifty-source


    By Soyoung Kim

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hertz Global Holdings is nearing an agreement to acquire Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for around $2.5 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday, potentially ending years of an on-again-off-again takeover battle involving the U.S. rental car companies.

    Under the terms of a deal that could be announced in coming days, Hertz could buy Dollar Thrifty for $87.50 per share, the sources said. The price would represent a premium of around 8 percent to Dollar Thrifty's Friday closing price of $81 per share.

    The two companies are in continuing discussions and there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached, said sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is not public.

    Representatives of Hertz and Dollar Thrifty were not immediately available for comment on Saturday.

    A combination of Hertz and Dollar Thrifty would end a takeover saga in which the Avis Budget Group also tried to acquire Dollar Thrifty, the fourth-largest car rental company in the United States.

    Hertz, the No. 2. U.S. car rental company, and third-ranked Avis have made several offers for Dollar Thrifty in the past few years, but antitrust issues and disagreements over price slowed the process.

    A Dollar Thrifty purchase by Hertz would leave the merged company, Avis Budget and privately held Enterprise Holdings -- the No. 1 car rental company -- controlling about 95 percent of the U.S. car rental market.

    In 2010, Hertz tried to buy the company for $1.2 billion, but Dollar Thrifty shareholders rejected the bid. Hertz came back to the negotiating table this year as Dollar Thrifty' s financial results sharply improved.

    Avis ended its pursuit of the smaller rival last year.

    Dollar Thrifty, 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.

    Several top Dollar Thrifty shareholders told Reuters earlier this week that they would accept a takeover offer from Hertz that values the firm at more than $87 per share, or $2.4 billion.

    At one point during the financial crisis, New Jersey-based Hertz offered to buy the smaller rival for $2 per share.

    (Reporting by Soyoung Kim in New York, additional reporting by Mark Weinraub in Chicago; Editing by Vicki Allen and Philip Barbara)