Dollar Thrifty’s fate unclear as shareholder meeting to vote on Hertz sale drags on

Dollar Thrifty fate unclear, will it go to Hertz?

CHICAGO — The fate of a vote by Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. shareholders was still unclear Thursday afternoon as a special meeting on a buyout offer from rival Hertz Global Holdings Inc. dragged on.

The meeting began Thursday morning in Chicago at 11 EDT, but results were still not available as of 2 p.m.

Dollar Thrifty’s board has already said it favors Hertz’s bid of about $50.88 over a higher per-share offer from Avis Budget Group. Hertz said Wednesday that if the offer is rejected, it will not make any other offers.

Hertz’s shares fell on the uncertainty Thursday. Shares fell 63 cents, or 6 percent to $10.98 in midday trading Thursday, while shares of Dollar Thrifty rose 40 cents to $50.50. Shares of Avis rose 32 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $11.84.

Hertz and Avis Budget Group Inc. have been bidding for months over Dollar Thrifty which can provide new leisure customers. These travelers are a key market segment for these companies right now because people are still traveling, even as businesses cut back.

Hertz’s offer consists of $43.60 in cash and 0.6366 shares of common stock of Hertz, for each share of Dollar Thrifty. Including restricted stock and stock options and cash, the offer is worth about $1.56 billion.

Hertz said on Wednesday that if the offer is rejected, it will not make any other offers.

Avis responded that it would continue to pursue a deal and it would pay a $20 million reverse termination fee if its deal went through for the Tulsa, Okla.-based company.

Avis, based in Parsippany, N.J. recently increased its offer from $40.75 to $45.79 per share in cash and 0.6543 shares of Avis Budget for each share of Dollar Thrifty. It values its offer at $53 per share, or about $1.52 billion in cash.