Hertz Equipment spin-off ‘within 12 months’

Hertz Global Holdings president and CEO John Tague has said the proposed spin-off of the company’s equipment rental business will now take place in the second quarter of next year.

Mr Tague was speaking as Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation’s (HERC) parent company announced it had completed its financial restatement of its 2012 and 2013 annual results, as well as some unaudited information for 2011.

He described 2015 as a “transitional” year for the group, but called the restatement “an important step forward” and said the company could now concentrate on “realising its full potential”.

Speaking about HERC, Mr Tague added: “Hertz remains committed to the separation of its equipment rental business. With the company's financial restatement finalized, Hertz is now focused on completing the audited carve out financial statements for HERC and requisite SEC filing activities for the separation.

“At separation, it is expected that HERC will have a leverage ratio of 3.5 to 4.0 times net debt/corporate EBITDA. HERC expects to focus its capital allocation on fleet investment to drive growth, opportunistic acquisitions and debt reduction.

“The company has put in place new leadership at HERC that is focused on delivering performance improvement in the core business and enabling profitable growth. “

HERC recently appointed experienced rental industry figure Larry Silber to manage the company through the process, and it has already held talks with Europe’s biggest rental company, Loxam, about the potential sale of its French and Spanish businesses.