Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group’s shareholders rejected Hertz’s $1.5 billion buyout offer at a special meeting Thursday, opening the door for Avis Budget to acquire Dollar Thrifty.
Dollar Thrifty said there were 13.8 million votes against, 11.8 million votes for and 4,735 abstentions.
Prior to the vote, Hertz CEO Mark Frissora said the car rental company would end all efforts to acquire Dollar Thrifty if the buyout was rejected.
In light of Frissora’s statement, Avis Budget said Wednesday that it would commence an exchange offer at its most recent bid no later than 10 business days after the meeting should the Hertz deal go down.
Dollar Thrifty’s board had urged shareholders to vote yes for the Hertz buyout even though Avis Budget Group’s most recent bid was higher.
Last week, Avis Budget submitted an offer that analysts valued at about $1.6 billion. But Dollar Thrifty’s board said it supported the Hertz deal because a closing could be completed by the end of the year. Dollar Thrifty also claimed that the Avis Budget offer faced a larger antitrust hurdle than Hertz’s bid.
On Wednesday, Avis Budget said it would "continue to actively pursue antitrust clearance" if the Hertz deal went down. Avis Budget said it would strive to sell assets representing $325 million of revenue.
Prior to the no vote, Hertz said it was attempting to sell Advantage Rent A Car to win antitrust approval, but that it would cease efforts to do so if Dollar Thrifty shareholders rejected the buyout.
Commenting on the rejected buyout, Dollar Thrifty CEO Scott Thompson stated, "We will evaluate all of our options going forward in order to maximize value for Dollar Thrifty shareholders."