🠈 Avis Budget Group 🠊
Avis Budget Group
The Avis Budget Group is a national company offering car rental and car sharing services. The company is headquartered in Parsnippany, NJ. They trade on the NASDAQ with the symbol: CAR.
Their company has more than 11,000 locations worldwide with about 500,000 cars to let. They have 100,000 "connected cars" that work with their "app." The company offers the etoll service for customers who will drive on select toll roads.
Their brands include:- Apex Car Rental rents cars in New Zealand and Australia.
- Avis Rent a Car
- Budget Rent a Car
- Budget Truck Rental
- Maggiore Group rents cars in Italy
- Payless Car Rental
- Zipcar is a car sharing service with communities around the globe.
Corporate History
This company has a complex acquisition chain with its primary brands being traded by large conglomerates seeking to create prominent positions in the travel industry.
To simplify the history, I will start with the break up of Cendant.
- 2006: the conglomerate Cendant split into four groups with the Avis Budget Group holding car rental services.
- 1996: Cendant acquired Avis Rent a Car
History of Avis Rent a Car
Avis Rent a Car is an international car rental service that grew to be the second largest service during its early history. The company has officially changed hands a number of times.
- 1946: Warren Avis, who owned a car dealership in Detroit, started the firm as Avis Airlines Rent-A-Car System with three cars at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
- 1954 Richard S. Robie acquired the firm from Warren Avis for $8 million.
- 1956: The holding group Amoskeag Company acquired Avis which it ran as a subsidiary called Avis Rent A Car System, Inc..
- 1962: An investment group called Lazard Freres acquired Avis and moved the headquarters to Garden City, NY.
- 1965: ITT Corporation acquired Avis for $51 million.
- 1970: A ruling by the Justice Department forced ITT to divest several companies including Avis.
- 1972: Avis created The Wizard System to provide computer service.
- 1977: billionaire Norton Simon acquired Avis for $174 million.
- 1981: Avis created a vehicle tracking system called Advanced Vehicle Identification System (AVIS).
- 1983: Esmark acquired Norton Simon's investments in a $1 billion deal.
- 1984: Beatrice Foods acquired Esmark.
- 1986: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired Beatrice, KKR then sold Avis to Wesray Capital Corporation for $265 million and the assumption of $1.34 billion in debt.
- 1986: Wesray sold Avis's car leasing fleet to PHH Group, Incorporated of Hunt Valley, Maryland for ~ $134 million.
- 1986: Wesray sold 65 percent of its European operations to the public for $290 with the name Avis Europe PLC.
- 1987: Company developed an Employee Share Ownership Plan for $750 million and the assumption of $1 billion in debt, with General Motors acquiring a 29% stake in company.
- 1987: Avis marketed its computer technology to the hotel industry through a subsidiary called WizCom International, Limited.
- 1996: HFS Corporation acquired Avis from the ESOP for $800 million.
- HFS stripped of WizCom and scaled down Avis to create a small company called Avis Rent A Car, Inc..
- 1997: ARAC acquired its largest franchise First Gray Line Corporation for about $195 million in cash.
- 1997: HFS spun off ARAC in an IPO with proceeds used to pay down $3 billion in debt.
- 1998: Avis acquired Hayes Leasing Company, Inc. which was a franchise based in Texas.
- 2001: Cendant acquired Avis for $937 million.
- 2002: Cendant acquired Budget Group
History of Budget Rent-A-Car
Budget Rent a Car is a discounted car rental firm.
- 1958: Morris Mirkin established a group of ten rental cars in in Los Angeles, California.
- 1960: the company took the name Budget Rent a Car Corporation and began expanding rapidly through franchises.
- 1986: Gibbons, Green, Van Amerongen purchased Budget for over $200 million in a leveraged buyout.
- 1987: Budget helds an IPO.
- 1997: Budget's largest franchise, Team Rental Group acquires Budget and changes name to Budget Group, Inc..
- 1998: Budget acquired the consumer truck rental business of Ryder to create Budget Truck Rental.
- 2006: Avis Budget Group is listed on NYSE with the symbol CAR
- 2010: CAR moves from the NYSE to NASDAQ.
- 2011: CAR re-acquired Avis Europe plc.
- 2013: CAR acquired Apex Car Rentals of New Zealand and Australia for $29 million in cash. Apex had a 4,000 car fleet.
History of Apex Car Rentals
Apex Car Rentals was founded in Christchurch in 1992. The company expanded to Australia, Costa Rica and the Cayman Island.
- 2013: CAR acquired Zipcar for $500 million
History of Zip Car
Zipcar is a car sharing service with cars available in major metropolitan areas and select university towns.
- 2000: Antje Danielson and Robin Chase cofounded the company and began service in Boston, Ma.
- 2001: Danielson was booted.
- 2001: Service began in Washington DC.
- 2002: Service began in NYC.
- 2003: Robin Chase was replaced by Scott Griffith as CEO.
- 2005: Benchmark Capital provided $10 million in financing.
- 2006: Zipcar expanded internationally to Toronto and London.
- 2007: Zipcar merged with Flexcar
History of Flexcar
Flexcar was a carsharing service based in Seattle.
- 1998: Tracy Carroll, Dave Brook, Conrad Wagner, and Neil Peterson met to design car sharing platforms.
- 2000: The car sharing service began with 100 members and four cars in Seattle.
- 2006: Revolution LLC, an investment group by Steve Case founder of AOL, purchased a 60% stake in firm.
- 2013: CAR acquired Payless Car Rental for $50 million.
History of Payless Car Rental
Payless is a network of discount car rental agencies.
- 1971: Payless was founded by John Les Netterstron.
- 2015: CAR acquired Maggiore Group for $170 million.
History of Maggiore Group
Maggiore Group was established in 1947 by racing enthusiast Vittorio Maggiore. It grew to be Italy's largest private owned firm before its acquisition.
- 2018: CAR acquired Turiscar Group based in Portugal.
References:
- Funding Universe - Avis Rent a Car (Drawn 11/28/2018)
- RTT News: Apex FAQ (Drawn 11/28/2018)
- Global Newswire - Avis Budget Group Agrees toe Acquire Maggiore Group (Drawn 11/28/2018)
- Avis Budget Timeline (Drawn 11/28/2018)
- Auto Rental News - Avis Acquires Portuguese Rental Firm (Drawn 11/28/2018)
- Funding Universe - Budget Car Rental (Drawn 11/28/2018)
- Auto Rental News - Avis Budget Acquires Payless (Drawn 11/28/2018)
Directory Listings:
- Cochise County - Automotive: Budget Truck Rental
- Coconino County - Rent-A-Car: Budget Truck Rental
- Gila County - Business: Budget Truck Rental
- Mohave County - Travel: Budget Truck Rental
- Navajo County - Automotive: Budget Truck Rental
- Phoenix Color - Car Rentals: Payless Car Rentals
- Phoenix Color - Car Rentals: Avis Rent-A-Car
- Phoenix Color - Car Rentals: Budget
- Phoenix Color - Car Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Pima County - Rent a Car: Avis Rent-A-Car
- Pima County - Rent a Car: Budget Rent a Car
- Pima County - Rent a Car: Budget Truck Rental
- Pima County - Rent a Car: Budget Truck Rental
- Pinal County - Rent-A-Car: Budget Truck Rental
- Yavapai County - Travel: Budget Truck Rental
- Yuma County - Travel: Budget Truck Rental
- Boulder Color - Rent-A-Car: Budget
- Boulder Color - Rent-A-Car: Avis Rent-A-Car
- Boulder Color - Rent-A-Car: Budget Truck Rentals
- Colorado Springs Color - Rent-a-Car: Budget
- Colorado Springs Color - Rent-a-Car: Budget Truck Rental
- Denver Color - Car Rentals: Budget
- Denver Color - Car Rentals: Payless Car Rental
- Denver Color - Car Rentals: Avis
- Denver Color - Car Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Denver Color - Car Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Durango Colorado - Rentals: Budget
- Durango Colorado - Rentals: Avis
- Durango Colorado - Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Fort Collins Color - Rentals: Avis
- Fort Collins Color - Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Garfield Colorado Links - Auto: Budget Truck Rental
- Grand Junction - Car Rentals: Budget
- Grand Junction - Car Rentals: Avis
- Grand Junction - Car Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Pueblo Color - Rentals: Avis
- Pueblo Color - Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Steamboat Springs Me - Automotive: Budget
- Steamboat Springs Me - Automotive: Avis
- Internet Rivers - Rent a Car: Budget Rent-A-Car
- Internet Rivers - Rent a Car: Avis
- Missoula Websites - Rent-A-Car: Avis
- Missoula Websites - Rent-A-Car: Budget Truck Rentals
- Cedar City - Rentals: Avis Rent a Car
- Cedar City - Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Logan Utah - Rentals: Avis Rent a Car
- Logan Utah - Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Ogden, Utah - Rent-A-Car: Budget
- Ogden, Utah - Rent-A-Car: Budget Truck Rental
- Park City, Utah - Car Rental: Budget Rent a Car
- Provo Utah - Rent-A-Car: Budget
- Provo Utah - Rent-A-Car: Avis Rent a Car
- Provo Utah - Rent-A-Car: Budget Truck Rentals
- Saint George - Car Rentals: Budget
- Saint George - Car Rentals: Avis Rent A Car
- Saint George - Car Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Salt Lake Sites - Car Rentals: Avis
- Salt Lake Sites - Car Rentals: Budget
- Salt Lake Sites - Car Rentals: Budget Truck Rental
- Salt Lake Sites - Car Rentals: Payless Car Rental
- Salt Lake Sites - Car Rentals: Payless Rent a Car
- Cheyenne, Wyoming. US - Rentals: Avis Rent A Car
- Cheyenne, Wyoming. US - Rentals: Budget Truck Rentals
- Laramie, Wyoming - Business: Budget Truck Rental