Car rental company Avis Budget Group Inc will purchase Zipcar Inc for about $500 million, surpassing larger rivals Hertz Global Holdings Inc and Enterprise Holdings Inc to become the No.1 player in the fast-growing U.S. car-sharing market.The offer of $12.25 per share in cash represents a premium of 49 percent to Zipcar's Monday close. Zipcar's shares were up 48.8 percent at $12.26 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday morning."We see car sharing as highly complementary to traditional car rental, with rapid growth potential and representing a scalable opportunity for us as a combined company," Avis Chief Executive Ronald Nelson said.Zipcar controls about 75 percent of the $400 million car-sharing industry in the United States. The total market is projected to reach $10 billion over the next several years, Nelson said on a conference call with analysts.
Avis Budget Group, Inc. (Avis Budget) operates two brands in the global vehicle rental industry through Avis and Budget. Shares of CAR traded higher by 4.69% or $0.93/share to $20.75. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $10.59 and as high as $20.49. On average, 1253920 shares of CAR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2702543.
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (Hertz Holdings) is a holding company. Shares of HTZ traded higher by 3.01% or $0.49/share to $16.76. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $10.22 and as high as $16.78. On average, 6381010 shares of HTZ exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 6274389.
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