Icahn Raises Stake In Hertz To 10.8%

(RTTNews) - Activist investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in car-rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) to 10.77 percent from the 8.48 percent stake that he previously held in the company.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Icahn increased his stake in Hertz to 49.29 million shares from the 38.8 million shares that he held previously. Icahn now holds a 10.77 percent stake in the company.

Last Thursday, Hertz said it appointed John Tague as President and Chief Executive Officer and to the company's board of directors, effective November 21.

Tague's appointment followed an extensive search conducted by Hertz's board of directors. The search process was overseen by the board's CEO Search Committee, comprised of five independent directors including two recently appointed as part of an agreement with Icahn, with the assistance of a leading executive search firm.

Hertz's former CEO Mark Frissora stepped down in early September 2014, citing personal reasons. The company had appointed Brian MacDonald as interim CEO, who was then serving as president and CEO of Hertz Equipment Rental Corp.

Tague, a travel and transportation industry veteran, is a former President and Chief Operating Officer of United Airlines. Most recently, he served as Chairman and CEO of Cardinal Logistics Holdings, a transportation and logistics provider and private-equity backed company.

Meanwhile, Hertz said in another regulatory filing that Tague will receive an annual base salary of $1.45 million, with the opportunity to receive up to 150 percent of the annual base salary as annual bonus. Upon commencing employment, Tague was granted options to purchase 1 million shares of Hertz common stock.

Tague, whose employment period runs from November 21, 2014 through December 31, 2017, will also be granted performance-vesting stock units with a target opportunity of 350,000 shares of Hertz common stock and a maximum opportunity of 525,000 shares of common stock, which will vest on December 31, 2017.

In September, Icahn struck a deal with Hertz to appoint his three nominees as new independent directors to the company's board. In return, Icahn agreed not to run a proxy contest and to vote the shares he controls in support of Hertz's slate of director nominees at the company's 2015 annual meeting of shareholders. Icahn and his affiliates also agreed to other customary standstill provisions.

HTZ closed Tuesday's trading at $25.25, up $0.89 or 3.65 percent on a volume of 20.74 million shares. In after-hours, the stock further gained $0.44 or 1.74 percent to $25.69.