Hertz IPO is latest private-equity flotation

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Less than a year after private equity funds bought Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), the world's largest car rental company is on track for one of the largest U.S. stock flotations of the year.
Private equity investors, whose appetite for acquisitions is fueling a surge in overall M&A activity, have been shortening the time between leveraged buyouts and the initial public offerings they often use to cash out on the deals.

Companies are also boosting offering sizes after paying themselves larger dividends and loading up with debt.

"When you have so much money in these deals, it increases the pressure to an enormous degree to get liquidity," said Tom Taulli, founder of InvestorOffering.com. "Investors are pushing for faster turnarounds and the deals are becoming flips as opposed to investments."

ML Global Private Equity Fund LP, an affiliate of Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER), and buyout firms Carlyle Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice bought Hertz from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) last December for $5.6 billion, or $15 billion including debt.

Park Ridge, New Jersey-based Hertz, which also has one of the largest equipment rental businesses in the United States, is scheduled to float about 88 million shares on Wednesday, or about 27.5 percent of the company, according to a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

COULD BE NO. 2 U.S. IPO

The company could raise more than $1.8 billion if the shares price at the top of a $16 to $18 forecast range and over-allotment options are exercised. The company would also be valued at about $5.8 billion.

At an $18 share price, Hertz would be the No. 2 U.S. IPO this year after the $2.6 billion float of credit card association MasterCard (NYSE:MA ).

At that price, Hertz would trade at 57 times annualized earnings, based on current earnings, which are depressed by debt service payments, according to Francis Gaskins president of IPO Desktop, a research firm based in Marina del Rey, California.

Actual earnings would be higher once the IPO proceeds are used to pay down debt, making for a smaller price-earnings ratio.

Still, Hertz's valuation looks lofty compared with rivals Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE:DTG ) and Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAR ), which trade at about 17 and 16 times earnings respectively, according to Reuters Estimates.

The Hertz investors are set to reap a paper gain of nearly $4 billion on $2.3 billion they invested less than a year ago.

The three firms will also receive a special dividend of up to $642 million from Hertz if the deal prices at the midpoint of the range and the underwriters exercise their option to sell 13 million additional shares.

In June, the investors used a $1 billion loan and cash on hand to pay a $999.2 million dividend to current stockholders.

Source Yahoo! Finance