Hertz Bid For Dollar Thrifty Runs Into Headwinds at FTC

Hertz Global Holdings Inc.’s bid for antitrust clearance to buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. has met resistance at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, according to people familiar with the situation.

An understanding that the deal could be approved with conditions, reached with the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, faces opposition at the agency’s Bureau of Economics, where some staffers think the $2.6 billion merger should be blocked, said the people, who declined to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The two bureaus submit their recommendations to the five-member commission, which makes the final decision.