Bankrupt company seeks unusual way to raise capital

Hertz wasn’t the first bankruptcy victim of the coronavirus pandemic, and it doesn’t look like it will be the last.

But the Lee County-based rental car giant has pulled off what could be a first of another kind: getting a bankruptcy court judge to approve its unusual request to raise at least $500 million in cash through a new stock offering. Bankrupt companies rarely go to the stock market for capital because bondholders and creditors are required to be paid before shareholders under bankruptcy laws. And the pot is almost always empty by the time shareholders get to the front of the line, making the stock worthless.