Cendant Corporation today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Budget Group, Inc. for $107.5 million in cash plus the payment of certain transaction related expenses and assumption of certain contracts and trade payables.
In addition, a subsidiary of Cendant will assume approximately $2.7 billion in non-recourse asset-backed vehicle-related debt. Budget Group is the third-largest general use car and truck rental company in the United States.
Pursuant to the definitive agreement, Cendant will acquire BudgetÂ's operations in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America. Budget is seeking a buyer for its operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and anticipates that these operations will continue to operate as usual under the Budget brand name. The companies expect to complete the transaction during the fourth quarter of 2002.
Following the acquisition, Budget will continue to operate as a separate and independent brand. Budget will complement the travel services currently offered by Cendant, including Avis car rental, Galileo travel distribution services, Trendwest and Fairfield Resorts timeshare development, RCI timeshare exchange, Cendant Travel Services, CendantÂ's nine lodging brands, Lodging.com and CheapTickets and Trip.com through CendantÂ's affiliation with Trip Network, Inc.
For more infoprmation please visit www.cendant.com.
(source: Cendant)
