Hertz announces 37.1 million share offering by stockholders

Hertz Global Holdings said Wednesday that certain stockholders of the rental car firm will launch a public offering of 37.1 million common shares at a discount price of $25 to $29 a share.

Hertz said it intends to purchase between $250 million and $500 million of the shares from the underwriters of the stockholders’ offering.

The stock closed Tuesday at $35.06 a share, up by 2.6%.

The repurchase plan follows a run-up in the company’s stock after it announced former Ford CEO Mark Fields as its interim CEO and a plan to add 100,000 Tesla cars to its fleet through 2022.

Hertz said it will not receive any proceeds from the sale. The company expects to fund the repurchase with cash on hand.

Since October 2020, Hertz’s common stock currently trades on the over-the-counter market under the symbol “HTZZ,” following its Chapter 11 filing in May 2020. Hertz has applied to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “HTZ.”

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are acting as lead bookrunning managers for the proposed offering, Hertz said in a release.

During the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic, Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection — but as travel rebounded somewhat and demand for rental vehicles picked up, investors from Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management said they would take over the company.