AutoNation's Auto Rental Spin-Off To Be Named ANC Rental Corp
9 November 1999
AutoNation's Auto Rental Spin-Off To Be Named ANC Rental Corporation, With Headquarters In Fort Lauderdale
Egan Named Chairman; Karsner is President and CEO
ANC Rental Corporation to Add 250 Jobs in Fort Lauderdale
AutoNation to Eliminate About 150 Positions as Company Becomes
'Pure Play' Auto Retailer
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 8 -- AutoNation, Inc.
today announced the formation of ANC Rental Corporation, which will be spun-
off to AutoNation shareholders as a tax-free share dividend to be distributed
in January 2000.
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ANC will include the Alamo, National and CarTemps USA vehicle rental
companies. After the spin off, ANC Rental Corporation will trade independently
on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ANR."
Michael S. Egan will be Chairman of ANC Rental Corporation and Michael S.
Karsner will be President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Egan is a founder
and former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alamo Rent A Car. Mr.
Karsner is AutoNation's Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Karsner, who has been
acting chief executive officer of the auto rental business since late August,
will retain his CFO responsibilities at AutoNation until a successor is named.
AutoNation is conducting a search for a new CFO and will consider both
internal and external candidates.
Under Mr. Egan's direction, Alamo grew from a small, regional automotive
rental company into the third largest rental company in the United States. He
sold Alamo Rent A Car to AutoNation, which at that time was called Republic
Industries, in 1996, and has been actively involved in a wide range of
business activities since that time.
Mr. Karsner joined AutoNation in 1996 as Senior Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer. Prior to joining AutoNation, he was Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer of Dole Food Company, Inc. and earlier he was Vice
President and Corporate Treasurer of The Black & Decker Corporation. Mr.
Karsner also held various management positions with Citicorp and other
financial institutions.
According to H. Wayne Huizenga, Chairman of the Board of AutoNation, Inc.,
"ANC Rental Corporation is fortunate to have the experience and guidance of
Mike Egan and the financial and management expertise of Mike Karsner. With
such leadership, ANC is well placed to achieve the operating synergies that
shareholders expect."
ANC Rental Corporation to be Based in Fort Lauderdale
In a related development, AutoNation said that ANC Rental Corporation will
be headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AutoNation added that the
Minneapolis headquarters of National Car Rental will relocate to Fort
Lauderdale, where it will be based in the same facility as Alamo Rent A Car,
which is already based in Fort Lauderdale.
National's reservation center, as well as the Company's telesales and
claims management functions, which together employ about 400 people, will
remain in Minneapolis. The relocation of National's headquarters will occur in
stages over the course of the year 2000, ultimately resulting in the loss of
approximately 400 jobs in Minneapolis. Some Minneapolis-based employees will
be offered transfers to Fort Lauderdale. By establishing its headquarters in
Fort Lauderdale, ANC Rental Corporation will add about 250 jobs to the local
economy.
National employees whose jobs are lost as a result of the relocation will
be offered severance and job placement assistance commensurate with their
years of service and varying levels of responsibility.
AutoNation To Eliminate About 150 Positions
When the spin off of ANC Rental Corporation is final, AutoNation will be a
pure-play automotive retailer. As a result, the Company will no longer require
the same number of staff and support personnel as were necessary when it
operated multiple businesses. Therefore, AutoNation will eliminate
approximately 150 positions, primarily at its Fort Lauderdale headquarters.
AutoNation said it will place as many employees as possible in jobs
created in Fort Lauderdale by ANC Rental Corporation. The company said it will
provide severance and job placement assistance to those who cannot be placed
at ANC. The workforce reductions at AutoNation will take place over a period
of several months, beginning immediately.
Commenting on these actions, Michael J. Jackson, Chief Executive Officer
of AutoNation, Inc., said, "The workforce reductions are a result of
AutoNation's decision to focus exclusively on the automotive retail business.
With the spin off of the rental companies, AutoNation cannot maintain an
infrastructure that was designed to support a much different business mission.
We will do everything possible to help our employees manage through this
transition."
AutoNation, Inc. is the world's largest automotive retailer, with 406
automotive retail franchises in 21 states and 41 AutoNation USA used vehicle
megastores in 13 states. AutoNation also operates more than 270 automotive
retail websites and its AutoNationDirect.com website offers the largest
selection of new and used vehicles at one-low-no-haggle prices on the
Internet. The Company also owns and operates Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc., National
Car Rental System, Inc. and CarTemps USA, which operate automotive rental
facilities throughout the United States and in more than 65 other countries
and will become ANC Rental Corporation in January 2000.