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NAPLES — Activist investor Carl Icahn reached a deal with Hertz to name three new directors to the board, avoiding a proxy fight with the struggling car-rental giant that moved its headquarters to Southwest Florida last year.
Hertz' board has nine directors and two of Icahn's appointees will be part of a five-person search committee for a new CEO. Earlier this week, Chairman and CEO Mark Frissora resigned as accounting and operational issues plagued the company.
“The Hertz board believes that this outcome is in the best interest of the company and all Hertz shareholders,” says Linda Fayne Levinson, independent non-executive chair of the Hertz board of directors, in a statement. “This agreement eliminates distraction and ensures that we stay sharply focused on delivering the significant potential of the business. Hertz is the clear leader in the rental car industry, and we will continue to take the necessary actions to fix the business.”
Icahn and other activist investors have clamored for change at Hertz. The company is in the process of splitting off its rental-equipment business, but accounting issues have delayed the move.
“Since I believe that the most important person at a company is the CEO, I'm especially happy that two of our three nominees will be on the five-person committee to find a permanent CEO,” says Icahn, in a statement. “I believe Hertz is a great company and a great brand and that the right new CEO will return it to its former glory.”
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