CHICAGO — Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group shareholders have rejected a buyout offer from Hertz, giving an opening for rival bidder Avis Budget Group’s offer for the car rental company.
The company said 11.8 million votes were cast for Hertz at a special shareholder meeting yesterday in Chicago, while 13.8 million shares were cast against the deal. There were 4,735 abstentions. Dollar Thrifty’s board had said it preferred Hertz’s offer to one by Avis.
Chief executive Scott Thompson said the company respects the vote of its shareholders. He did not mention Avis specifically but hinted there were still other deals the company could consider.
Hertz was offering $43.60 in cash and 0.6366 shares of common stock for each share of Dollar Thrifty.
Including restricted stock and stock options and cash, the offer is worth about $50.88 per share, or $1.56 billion. Avis’s offer, worth $53 per share, is still on the table.
The offer by Avis may have been more attractive to shareholders because it has more cash.
In the US market, Enterprise dominates with 37 percent, followed by Hertz at 20 percent. Avis Budget has 17 percent, and Dollar Thrifty has under 7 percent, according to IBISWorld.
