The History of Hertz: A Global Car Rental Company

• Hertz is an American car rental company headquartered in Estero, Florida.

• The company operates its namesake Hertz brand, along with the brands Dollar Rent A Car, Firefly Car Rental and Thrifty Car Rental.

• It is one of the three big rental car holding companies in the United States, holding a 36% market share.

• As one of the largest worldwide vehicle rental companies by sales, locations, and fleet size, Hertz operates in 160 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and New Zealand.

• The company filed for bankruptcy on May 22, 2020, citing a sharp decline in revenue and future bookings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• As of December 31, 2021, the company had revenues of $7.3 billion, assets of $19.7 billion, and 23,000 employees.

• As of July 1, 2021, the company is no longer in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

• In 1987, Ford Motor Company purchased Hertz for US$1.3 billion.

• Hertz relocated its headquarters from Midtown Manhattan to Park Ridge, New Jersey in 1988.

• In 2002, Hertz became the first international car rental company to open in China.

• In 2013, Hertz began partnering with China's largest car rental company, China Auto Rental.

• In 2016, it reduced its ownership stake but announced a continuing commercial relationship through 2023.

• By the second quarter of 2005, Hertz produced about ten percent of Ford's overall pre-tax profit.

• After 18 years of ownership, the Ford Motor Company announced it would be selling the Hertz brand with the intent to focus more on building Ford cars and trucks.

• Private equity firms Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity agreed to purchase all shares of common stock in Hertz for an estimated US$15 billion, including debt, and the business itself for US$5.6 billion in 2005.

• The Clayton, Dubilier & Rice consortium took Hertz Global Holdings public again on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2006.

• Hertz launched subbrand "Simply Wheelz" in September 2007 for economy-minded and leisure-market audiences.

• In 2008, the service expanded to airports in California, Florida, and the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada.

• Simply Wheelz was rebranded as Advantage Rent-a-Car in the fall of 2009.

• In December 2009, Hertz announced the acquisition of used cars dealer British Car Auctions (BCA) from London-based equity firm Montagu Private Equity for an estimated £390 million.

• In May 2013, Frissora and Florida Governor Rick Scott announced Hertz Global Holdings would relocate their worldwide headquarters from Park Ridge, New Jersey to Estero, Florida.

• John P. Tague replaced Frissora as chief executive officer and president of The Hertz Corporation in November 2014.

• Kathryn V. Marinello, former CEO of Stream Global Services, was appointed president and chief executive officer of The Hertz Corporation on January 2, 2017, following John Tague's retirement.

• Marinello resigned as CEO on May 18, 2020, and Hertz announced that Paul Stone as new president and chief executive officer.

• In April 2020, Hertz announced that it had missed lease payments on its fleet and was seeking support from its lenders, including activist investor Carl Icahn, in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy.

• On May 22, 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that Hertz was preparing to file for bankruptcy because it did not reach an agreement with top lenders.

• That same day, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

• Carl Icahn held 39% of Hertz's shares when it filed for bankruptcy on May 22, 2020, and he controlled three board seats. He invested a total of $2.3 billion into Hertz shares from 2014 to 2020.

• Hertz financed itself mostly by taking out loans secured by its fleet of cars, and if the cars fell in value, Hertz's lenders had the right to demand an immediate payment, reducing the amount of the loan, so they were still comfortably covered by the cars’ now-lower value.

• Because of the crisis, used-car values and sales volumes fell right as Hertz lost most of its customers.

• The bankruptcy filing started a 60-day clock, during which Hertz's secured lenders must wait before they can foreclose on the 400,000 U.S. cars that were financed through such arrangements.

• Despite the bankruptcy filing, Hertz announced on June 11 that it was seeking to raise up to $1 billion in new equity (with disclaimers that there is a "risk that the common stock could ultimately be worthless").

• The stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in October 2020.

• In July 1, 2021, Hertz emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and changed its ticker symbol from HTZGQ to HTZZ.

• In October 2021, Mark Fields was named interim CEO of Hertz with a focus on forward looking investments.

• On October 25, 2021, Fields announced that Hertz will buy 100,000 Tesla vehicles citing his goal of fleet electrification.

• In November 2021, the company went public again on the Nasdaq with symbol HTZ.

• In February 2022, Stephen M. Scherr was named CEO of Hertz.

In April 2020, Hertz announced that it had missed lease payments on its fleet and was seeking support from its lenders, including activist investor Carl Icahn, in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy. On May 22, 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that Hertz was preparing to file for bankruptcy because it did not reach an agreement with top lenders. That same day, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Carl Icahn held 39% of Hertz's shares when it filed for bankruptcy on May 22, 2020, and he controlled three board seats. He invested a total of $2.3 billion into Hertz shares from 2014 to 2020. Hertz financed itself mostly by taking out loans secured by its fleet of cars, and if the cars fell

• Hertz is the largest car rental company in the world
• Hertz has over 12,000 corporate and franchisee locations in 160 countries
• Hertz has a rental fleet that includes a variety of vehicles and brands
• Hertz has introduced new technologies in the past, such as satellite radio and carsharing
• In 2016, Hertz reintroduced the "Rent-a-Racer" program, which includes specially modified Ford Mustangs