Hertz Rejoins NASDAQ Trading Floor with Ticker Symbol HTZ

Hertz shareholders successfully sold 44.5 million shares of common stock in a major public offering.

After being delisted from the NYSE due to a sharp decline in rentals at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hertz Global Holdings Inc., a leading car rental company, has made a significant turnaround. This week, Hertz officially relisted its shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol HTZ, signaling renewed optimism as the car rental industry experiences a strong recovery fueled by rising demand.

Highlights

• Hertz Global Holdings shareholders sold 44.5 million shares in an expanded public offering.
• The company’s shares began trading on November 9, 2021, on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol HTZ.
• Prior to this, Hertz shares were traded over-the-counter (OTC) under the ticker HTZZ following its emergence from bankruptcy.
• Hertz will not receive proceeds from this sale but plans to repurchase 10.3 million shares valued at $300 million.

In this upsized public offering, key shareholders sold their stakes on November 9, 2021, at $29 per share. The transaction was managed with advisory support from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Morgan Stanley.

Though Hertz will not benefit directly from the sale proceeds, it announced plans to buy back 10.3 million shares totaling $300 million, valuing the company at approximately $13.7 billion.

Hertz’s Debut Day on Nasdaq

Trading began on November 9, with the stock opening below the offering price at $26.25, peaking at $28 during the day, and closing at $26.17. The lowest intraday price was $25.40, with 27 million shares exchanging hands. Major shareholders like Cougar Capital and Oaktree Capital Management participated in the offering.

Additionally, Hertz’s outstanding warrants started trading under the ticker HTZWW on the same day, with the offering closing on November 12, 2021.

From Bankruptcy to Revival

Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020 amid the pandemic-induced travel halt, leading to its NYSE delisting in October 2020. Despite entering 2020 burdened with high debt from acquisitions, a large vehicle inventory, and $1 billion in cash, the company faced steep losses as rental demand plummeted. Emerging from bankruptcy on June 30, 2021, Hertz began OTC trading as HTZZ on July 1, 2021.

Driving Growth with Electric Vehicles

To boost revenues, Hertz is aggressively expanding into the electric vehicle (EV) rental market. Alongside its Nasdaq relisting, the company is negotiating with Tesla Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. to accelerate EV adoption. Hertz aims to have EVs comprise 20% of its global fleet and announced plans to acquire 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles, with deliveries expected by late 2022. Furthermore, Hertz intends to lease 50,000 EVs to Uber.

This strategic partnership targets select U.S. states to capture the growing EV rental segment, supported by investments in vehicle procurement and charging infrastructure across the U.S. and Europe. Interim CEO Mark Fields, former Ford CEO, emphasized the Tesla deal as a cornerstone of Hertz’s EV growth strategy.

However, the Tesla agreement remains unofficial, as CEO Elon Musk clarified that no contract has yet been signed. Musk noted Tesla’s production constraints and confirmed that any sales to Hertz would be at consumer-equivalent margins, underscoring that the deal does not impact Tesla’s overall economics.

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