Dollar Thrifty courting final bids from Avis and Hertz

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Car Rental News - 22/08/2011

 

US car hire company is looking for the best offers from its battling suitors.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, which has been subject of a huge takeover battle by competitors Avis Budget Group and Hertz Global Holdings has said that it wants both suitors to pitch their best and last offers. The said on Sunday that it wants the bids submitted by early October.

The US rental company said that both Hertz and Avis had made a lot of progress in their regulatory reviews so it was now time for both to stump up with their ultimate proposals to takeover Dollar Thrifty. In the announcement, Dollar Thrifty CEO Scott Thompson said that it served the interests of nobody involved for the current uncertainty to continue.

Thompson said that Dollar Thrifty would review what to do next based on the outcome of this bidding process. He said the decision would have to be one that serves the best interests of both Dollar Thrifty and the company’s shareholders.

Thompson issued the statement in a letter submitted to the chief executives of both Hertz and Avis. Neither Hertz nor Avis were available for immediate comment.

The Dollar Thrifty CEO also warned that it would most likely be unacceptable for any proposal that requires shareholders in Dollar Thrifty to assume any of the risk there will be a review of the deal by antitrust authorities.

The US car hire market once featured a large number of operators but consolidation has resulted in there being just four major competitors to day. The market is now dominated by Avis, Dollar Thrifty, Hertz and industry leader Enterprise, which is in private hands. This means that any more deals could face scrutiny by antirust authorities.

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