Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) extended its offer for Dollar
Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (DTG) for a third time and said fewer
shares have been tendered to its offer.
The No. 2 domestic car-rental company by fleet size said about
8.9 million Dollar Thrifty shares were tendered as of the close of
business on Friday. Previously, Hertz had said about 9.02 million
Dollar Thrifty shares had been tendered as of Oct. 19, a few days
before the previous deadline.
The tender offer is now set to expire on Nov. 16, from its
previous deadline of Nov. 5.
Though the percentage of shares tendered by Dollar Thrifty
shareholders appears low at about 32%, investors are likely waiting
for the companies to obtain approval of the Federal Trade
Commission.
Hertz agreed to a $2.3 billion deal for Dollar Thrifty in
August, ending a long bidding war with Avis Budget Group Inc.
(CAR).
Hertz had agreed last month to give the FTC more time to review
its bid for Dollar Thrifty. Hertz, which had previously expected to
secure an FTC consent decree by mid-October, said it now won't
close the deal prior to Nov. 16 without the consent of the FTC,
after previously agreeing to an Oct. 31 deadline.
On Monday, Hertz noted that the tender offer is now scheduled to
expire on the same date as its extended timing agreement with the
FTC.
Last week, Dollar Thrifty said its third-quarter earnings fell
17% due to merger expenses related to its pending acquisition by
Hertz and lower gains from sales of vehicles. Also last week, Hertz
reported that third-quarter profit grew 18% as car and equipment
rental sales each climbed higher.
Shares of Hertz closed Friday at $13.10, while those of Dollar
Thrifty closed at $74.70.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires