Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC approves Franchise Services of North America’s application to sell Advantage Rent a Car, (Jan 30, 2014)

The FTC has approved an application by Franchise Services of North America, Inc. (FSNA) to sell to the Catalyst Capital Group, Inc. assets that it acquired from Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., pursuant to an FTC settlement with Hertz in 2012. The settlement required Hertz to sell its Advantage rental car business and other assets to a Commission-approved buyer in order to proceed with its proposed $2.3 billion acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. The FTC’s settlement requires FSNA, for three years, to obtain FTC approval before selling any of Advantage assets it acquired.

Pursuant to the consent order with Hertz, FSNA acquired Advantage and, through its direct subsidiary Simply Wheelz, has operated the business under the Advantage name. In November 2013, Simply Wheelz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and sought to sell Advantage, which has continued to operate during the approval process.

Catalyst was the winning bidder for the Advantage assets in a bankruptcy auction held in December 2013. The bankruptcy court has approved Catalyst’s acquisition of Advantage, subject to FTC approval. The Commission announced today that it has approved FSNA’s application to sell the Advantage assets to Catalyst following the public comment period.

Companies: Franchise Services of North America, Inc.; Catalyst Capital Group, Inc.; Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.; Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.

News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews