Hertz Tries Harder for Dollar Thrifty Buyout

The long-awaited conclusion to the acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: DTG) by Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) is going to take a little longer. Hertz announced this morning that it was extending the deadline for its $87.50 a share tender offer until October 22. The original offer was set to expire today.

The bad news, for Hertz at least, is that just 24% of Dollar Thrifty's shares had been tendered by the close of business yesterday.

The first effort to acquire Dollar Thrifty came from Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) in the spring of 2010 at $50 a share, a premium of 18% to Dollar Thrifty's share price at the time. By the following spring, Hertz had nudged the bidding up to $72 a share before dropping its bid and sending Dollar Thrifty shares back down to around $60 a share. Hertz's final offer came in late August and was supported by Dollar Thrifty's board.

Shares of Dollar Thrifty are essentially unchanged at $87.06 in a 52-week range of $57.02 to $87.70.

Shares of Hertz are up 0.5% at $14.64 in a 52-week range of $9.40 to $16.64.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mergers and Buy Outs, Services, Shareholder Issues Tagged: CAR, DTG, featured, HTZ