MAII Announces Plans for Car Rental Direct
LOS ANGELES--March 19, 2002--The Board of Directors of MAII Holdings, Inc. (OTC:MAII) has authorized management to pursue a course of action to spinout its subsidiary Car Rental Direct (CRD) as a standalone public company. In support of this plan, the Company has added Mr. William E. Lobeck to its group of advisors to provide guidance in developing and executing its plan."Since we acquired CRD in late August of 2001, the company has grown faster than we expected and its growth, revenue and profitability picture creates the potential for a very successful public company," said Chris Tyler, Chairman and CEO of MAII Holdings, Inc. "We believe by spinning out CRD as its own public entity we will be able to maximize the value of the investment for the shareholders of MAII. The company is now pretty well through the development stage of its lifecycle and entering a phase of critical mass and achieving the operating efficiencies which drive profitability."
"In terms of financial guidance we feel that our subsidiary, CRD, will generate between $35 million and $40 million in sales for 2002 and net income between $1.5 million and $2 million. For 2003 we are looking for sales of between $60 million and $70 million and net income between $4 million and $6 million," continued Mr. Tyler. "With less than 4 million shares outstanding, we are looking for CRD to contribute between $.40 and $.50 per share this year and over $1 per share next year. Keenan Chueng, our COO, and his operations team are doing an excellent job at CRD, and by structuring CRD as a stand alone public company we can design the most effective performance based reward scheme for the management and troops of CRD. By aligning the performance based compensation with the creation of shareholder value, we feel we will get the best for both the shareholders and employees of CRD."
The company also announced that it has hired Mr. William E. Lobeck as its Management Consultant for the next three months to refine the strategy and operating plans to sustain CRD's high growth performance. "Bill has a long and successful history in the car rental business," continued Mr. Tyler. "In 1981, Bill acquired Thrifty Rent-A-Car. Bill and his team grew Thrifty's pretax income to $19 million by 1987 and they took the business public that same year. In 1989, Thrifty was sold to PentaStar, a division of Chrysler, and overall Bill and his investors realized over $175 million on their investment. Following the sale to Chrysler, Bill remained as President until February 1993.
"In 1995, Bill acquired National Car Rental for $30 million in equity from GM. GM had suffered eight years of continuous losses at National before selling it to Bill and his group. As CEO, Bill grew revenues by more than $750 million in less than two years. Under Bill's management, a number of operating changes were made, which improved results from the losses experienced by GM to a substantial operating profit at the time of sale. Bill sold National to AutoNation realizing more than $600 million in 1997 for he and his investors. Following the transaction, Bill served as President of AutoNation's automotive rental group until 1999, when the term of his commitment expired. Bill is well known in the industry and is respected by both the auto manufacturers and the financial community. I don't think there is a better rent-car operator on the planet than Mr. Lobeck," Mr. Tyler said in closing. "Needless to say we are very pleased that Bill has agreed to help us define our goals for Car Rental Direct."
About MAII Holdings, Inc. & Car Rental Direct
MAII Holdings, Inc. is led by a board & management team with significant expertise in management information systems and in mergers and transactions. The Company's focus is in the growth and management of specialized technology companies that serve consumer and business-to-business markets.
A wholly owned subsidiary, Car Rental Direct, formerly Car Rental Direct.Com, is emerging as a fast growing leader in the replacement segment of the automobile rental industry, providing vehicles for businesses and consumers via short- and long-term rental contracts. The company currently operates 20 distribution points in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada and models itself on the Enterprise Rent a Car model featuring local pick up and drop off service.
The Private Securities Litigation reform act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by MAII Holdings, Inc.) contains statements and other matters that are forward-looking. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by MAII Holdings, Inc. For a description of additional risks and uncertainties, please refer to the MAII Holdings, Inc. filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including MAII Holdings, Inc.'s Form 10-k.