Hertz IPO
TEXT OF STORY
CHERYL GLASER: After almost 90 years in business Hertz has a better idea. The rental car company plans to go public this week as Janet Babin reports.
JANET BABIN: Hertz had intentions of going public last summer when it was owned by Ford, but a group of private equity firms ended up acquiring the company last December.
Since the buyout, revenue is up 9 percent over last year. But credit analyst Betsy Snyder with Standard and Poor’s doesn’t think Hertz’s new owners had much to do with it. She says the company has always been profitable:
BETSY SNYDER: They generate strong cash flow…and they’re profitable – what more could a buyer want, right?
Hertz is likely banking on that sentiment.
But Henry Harteveldt with Forrester Research says the IPO could tank if gas prices keep rising:
HENRY HARTEVELDT: People either may not fly which is where they’re most likely to rent cars, or they may curtain the number of days they stay away or they just don’t rent the car at all.
The company didn’t give a price range for the shares or say how many it would offer.
I’m Janet Babin for Marketplace.
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