WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (DTG) Sunday said it has sent a letter to Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (HTZ) and Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) advising them of Dollar Thrifty's intention to solicit for submission in early October 2011 best and final definitive proposals regarding a potential business combination with Dollar Thrifty.
Dollar Thrifty President and CEO Scott Thompson said both Hertz and Avis have the information they need to put forward their best and final offers.
Thompson stated,' Hertz and Avis have made substantial progress with respect to regulatory reviews and our Board has concluded that the time has come to determine if, and on what terms, a transaction can be achieved.'
In a letter to Avis Budget Group and Hertz Global Holdings, Thompson said Dollar Thrifty believed that each of Avis Budget and Hertz is well positioned to complete the regulatory process in a manner that would permit a combination to be completed with limited economic impact.
Dollar Thrifty's board has determined that it will solicit best and final definitive proposals for submission in early October, the letter stated.
In closing, the letter mentioned that any proposal to assume portions of antitrust regulatory risks was unlikely to be acceptable to Dollar Thrifty or shareholders.
According to Dollar Thrifty, each of Avis Budget and Hertz had had unprecedented opportunity to assess and mitigate in advance the antitrust regulatory risks of a transaction with Dollar Thrifty.
On May 9, 2011, Hertz made an exchange offer, which consists of $57.60 in cash and 0.8546 shares of Hertz, for all outstanding shares of Dollar Thrifty. The total value of the $72 per share bid is around $2.36 billion.
Hertz's initial bid for Tulsa, Oklahoma-headquartered Dollar Thrifty was made in April 2010, offering $41 per share in cash and stock, totaling around $1.2 billion. In mid-September last year, Hertz's acquisition deal of $50.25 per share with Dollar Thrifty failed as shareholders of Dollar Thrifty voted against the transaction.
Avis entered the fray by making an unsolicited bid of $46.50 per share in cash and stock. Subsequently, Avis sweetened the offer price twice, and the latest offer was valued at $56.74.
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