Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Spurs Acquisition Growth; Agreement Signed to Acquire Thrifty Franchise Operation Serving John Wayne Airport
TULSA, Okla., July 27 -- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. today announced its corporate operations subsidiary has signed an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of the Thrifty Car Rental franchise operation serving John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, and a second location at 3500 Irvine in Newport Beach. The acquisition, effective September 1, 2004, continues the company's corporate growth strategy of acquiring franchisees in key markets. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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"We continue to make great strides toward the objective DTG announced in December 2002 of operating key U.S. and Canadian locations corporately," Gary L. Paxton, President and Chief Executive Officer, said. "With this transaction, we have nearly reached the two-thirds mark in our franchise acquisition strategy and should serve as the catalyst for additional acquisitions to close by the end of this year."
May 2004 statistics, published on John Wayne Airport's web site, reveal an 8.6 percent increase in passenger traffic over May 2003 numbers. Year-to-date 2004 passenger levels for the airport, which is located in Orange County, show an increase of more than 422,000 passengers or 13.1 percent during the same period of 2003.
Newport Beach Sales and Leasing, Inc., owned by Lois Fore and managed with her husband Robert Fore, hold the Thrifty franchise rights. Upon completion of the transaction, the Fores will be granted dual franchise agreements for both the Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental brands serving Long Beach Airport and anticipate opening those on-airport locations at the beginning of October 2004.
"This is a win-win situation for us," Jay Foley, Senior Executive Vice President - Corporate Operations, said. "Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group acquires another strategic operation and we get to keep a terrific franchise owner in Lois and Bob Fore. These transitions will continue to be virtually invisible to our customers. As with our previous acquisitions, Thrifty will continue to focus on providing value-driven travelers with a great car rental experience."
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. is a Fortune 1000 Company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Driven by the mission, Value Every Time, the Company's brands, Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental, serve value- conscious travelers in approximately 70 countries. Dollar and Thrifty have approximately 800 corporate and franchised locations in the United States and Canada, and they have operations at most major airports. The Company's more than 7,000 employees are located mainly in North America, but global service capabilities exist through an ever expanding franchise network. For additional information, visit http://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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