Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group to Acquire Operations of Largest Thrifty Franchisee
Growth Accelerated, Adding South Florida With 5,300 Vehicles and 14 Locations
TULSA, Okla., Aug. 7 -- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. today announced its corporate operations subsidiary has signed an agreement to acquire substantially all of the Thrifty Car Rental franchise operations in South Florida, the company's single-largest franchisee. The acquisition, consistent with DTG's new corporate internal growth strategy, will add approximately 5,300 vehicles and 14 locations to DTG's corporate operations, effective September 1, 2003. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"DTG's acquisition of the primary assets of Thrifty Car Rental's largest franchisee -- in a premier leisure destination -- represents significant progress in executing our aggressive internal growth strategy," said Gary L. Paxton, DTG President and Chief Operating Officer -- Corporate Operations. "Our plan is to operate larger U.S. locations corporately and we've made significant headway this year."
Once the South Florida acquisition has been completed, in addition to previously announced acquisitions and greenfield location openings, DTG will have added an estimated 11,800 vehicles to its U.S. fleet in 2003. These transactions will result in DTG operating a fleet of approximately 80,000 vehicles at 220 locations in the U.S.
According to Paxton, by acquiring franchised locations, the company is able to grow DTG's revenue despite difficult conditions in the travel industry environment. This year, DTG has acquired the Thrifty franchise operations in the state of Hawaii; Atlanta, Georgia; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Ontario, California. The company last week announced it has reached agreement to begin operating Thrifty corporately in Houston, Texas, effective September 15. Additionally, Thrifty greenfield locations have been opened in Charlotte, North Carolina; Daytona Beach, Florida; and Tucson, Arizona; and a Dollar greenfield location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. DTG will continue to explore further acquisitions as it continues to execute its growth plan.
Acquisition of Thrifty's franchisee operations in South Florida, effective September 1, will include in-terminal operations at the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and W. Palm Beach International Airports. Miami International Airport is ranked the fifth-largest, Fort Lauderdale the tenth-largest, and W. Palm Beach the 31st-largest airport in the U.S. Also included in the acquisition are 11 satellite locations in Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties.
The transition from franchise to corporate operations in South Florida is expected to be virtually seamless to Thrifty's customers, said Jay Foley, DTG Executive Vice President - U.S. Corporate Operations. "Regardless of ownership, Thrifty will continue to focus on its core strength: providing value-seeking customers with a great car rental experience."
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc., a Fortune 1000 Company, is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has approximately 6,000 worldwide employees. Focused on being the low-cost provider in the car rental industry, the company's brands, Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental, serve value- conscious leisure travelers in more than 70 countries. With operations at most major airports, Dollar and Thrifty have approximately 800 corporate and franchised locations in the United States and Canada. Additional information can be found by visiting www.dtag.com .
Some of the statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. believes such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and certain factors could cause results to differ materially from current expectations. These factors include: price and product competition; economic and competitive conditions in markets and countries where the companies' customers reside and where the companies and their franchisees operate; airline travel patterns; changes in capital availability or cost; costs and other terms related to the acquisition and disposition of automobiles; costs of conducting business and changes in structure or operations; and certain regulatory and environmental matters. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties, among others, materialize, actual results could vary from those estimated, anticipated or projected. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time.
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