PARSIPPANY, N.J. -

The saga continues in the battle between two rental-car rivals to acquire Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. In the latest turn of events, Avis Budget Group announced Thursday the cash portion of its offer to buy Dollar Thrifty has now been boosted by more than $5 a share.

The company said it could sweeten the pot even more if a break-up fee was excluded.

With Thursday’s revision, Avis’ offer is now $45.79 per share in cash (compared with $40.75 previously) and 0.6543 shares of Avis stock.
Officials stated that the cash portion would include the proceeds from the pre-closing special dividend that Dollar Thrifty would pay, as noted in the prior proposal.

Avis contends that its offer is a “meaningful premium” compared to the deal Hertz has proposed.

Avis management then criticized Dollar Thrifty’s board of directors and said the board could handle the process better.

“We believe it would be beneficial for Dollar Thrifty shareholders if the Dollar Thrifty board of directors engaged in a process to maximize value, rather than letting Hertz dictate timing and process,” Avis claimed.

“Dollar Thrifty’s board continues to disappoint,” officials went on to contend. "Not only have they once again failed to engage in any discussions with Avis Budget prior to entering into the new binding agreement with Hertz, but they have also failed to use the renegotiation with Hertz as an opportunity to create a level playing field for all potential bidders.

“Dollar Thrifty’s failure to remove Hertz’s matching rights makes no sense given that Hertz characterized its revised offer as ‘non-negotiable and final,’” the company claimed.

Continuing on, Avis argued — citing analysis that regulators would normally perform — that a Hertz-Dollar Thrifty merger would lead to several airports being “highly concentrated,” based on the Federal Trade Commission’s typical definition of such.

“A sale by Hertz of its Advantage brand — a trivial operation that has no presence at several dozen airports — is by itself unlikely to be a meaningful or sufficient remedy for any antitrust issues,” Avis argued. “Moreover, the real pricing picture, as shown in the materials posted today to the Investor Relations section of the Avis Budget Group website, tells the true story about Hertz’s exclusive relationship with AAA: With more than $500 million of leisure revenue, Hertz’s offering to AAA members clearly competes directly with Dollar, Thrifty and other value brands.”

They went on to contend, "In light of these concerns, there is no justification for Dollar Thrifty holding a shareholder meeting before the FTC completes its review of the Avis Budget and Hertz submissions.”