Creditors to Hertz Global Holdings Inc. are organizing across at least two groups, bracing for potential negotiations with the car rental company over its billions of dollars of debt that comes due over the next few years, according to people familiar with the matter. A consortium of secured lenders is working with Evercore Inc. and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Meanwhile, Canadian-based Canso Investment Councel Ltd. is part of a group that has retained Houlihan Lokey Inc. and Ropes & Gray.
The company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020, is working with PJT Partners to extend the maturities of its obligations. Hertz has about $6 billion of non-vehicle debt, with many securities trading at deeply distressed levels, and another $12.7 billion in vehicle debt. It has about $2.7 billion in loans due in 2028.
Hertz in August reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, disclosing $2.4 billion of revenue, up 10% from a year earlier. Hertz ended the quarter with $984 million of liquidity. Still, the company is contending with challenging conditions for the rental-car business, namely softness in the used-vehicle market, higher gasoline prices and inflation that’s squeezing Americans’ disposable income.
Hertz’s shares traded at $2.19 as of 14:30 p.m. Wednesday in New York, rising 6%.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing