Ford Offers to Acquire Rest of Hertz for $35.50 a Share

Ford(F Quote - Cramer on F - Stock Picks) agreed to acquire the publicly held common stock of car-rental concern Hertz(HRZ Quote - Cramer on HRZ - Stock Picks) for $35.50 a share, a company in which the automaker already owns an 81.5% stake.

Public shareholders own the remaining 18.5% of Hertz, an interest that amounts to about 20 million shares. Based on the offering price, the acquisition is valued at about $710 million.

The latest offer represents an 18% increase over Ford's original offer of $30 a share made in September. The companies expect to close the transaction no later than early in the second quarter of 2001.

Shares of Hertz closed today at $34.81, down 6 cents, or 0.2%, while Ford gained 75 cents, or 2.8%, to $27.13, both on the New York Stock Exchange.