Hertz Shares to Recover $8 Each in Knighthead Win; Stock Soars

  • Car rental company held auction to decide between two plans
  • Hertz aims to exit bankruptcy by June amid summer travel boom

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

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In a deal that hands a huge victory to shareholders of bankrupt Hertz Global Holdings Inc., the car renter picked Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management to buy the company out of Chapter 11, capping a dramatic brawl for control of the company.

The deal, which gives a reorganized Hertz an enterprise value of $7.43 billion, was picked over an offer from a competing group led by Centerbridge Partners, Warburg Pincus and Dundon Capital Partners, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the plan hasn’t been made public. The Knighthead-Certares plan would give equity holders a recovery of about $8 a share -- a package that’s made up of about $240 million in cash and warrants for nearly 20% of the reorganized company, the people said.