Dollar Thrifty

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News items to watch next week include Groupon's long-awaited IPO, the release of Take-Two Interactive's Grand Theft Auto V, Dunkin' Brands second-ever quarterly report, and more from car rental companies to satellite radio.

After 18 months of letting potential buyers kick its tires, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group announced that it's no longer for sale. This is bad news for Hertz, which seemed to be the last bidder standing after Avis Budget dropped out. The operators' loss is naturally the consumers' gain, and trends look ominous for this industry going forward.

Hertz Global Holdings's says fourth-quarter profit exceeded the company's forecast as it improved the efficiency of its operations. Strong used-car prices probably don't hurt too.

24/7 Wall St. recently looked at a number of large American companies, some of which are owned by foreign companies, to see which will disappear in 2011. It didn't take long to come up with a list of familiar names such as Sara Lee, Office Depot, Borders, E*Trade and five others.

Dollar Thrifty shareholders voted against a proposed acquisition from larger car-rental competitor Hertz, likely ending Hertz's five-month-long effort to acquire the company and indicating that a competing bid from Avis Budget Group may be gaining traction.

Avis Budget has increased its offer for Dollar Thrifty, firing the latest salvo in its bidding war for Dollar with archrival Hertz. It's a familiar pattern in the world of mergers and acquisitions, and the data shows that interlopers like Avis often a better chance of taking home the prize.

A week after rental car giant Hertz announced plans to drive off into the sunset with Dollar Thrifty, rival Avis Budget on Monday made clear that it plans to crash the party. Avis is wooing Dollar for itself, bringing a higher offer (and some serious hired guns) to the table.

Another merger between car-rental companies -- in this case Hertz and Dollar-Thrifty -- may mark another wave of rental branch closings as the industry continues to consolidate. The good news? Prices probably won't go up -- for now.

Hertz Global Holdings, the world's largest airport car rental company, announced plans Monday to acquire rival Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Monday -- a deal that Hertz said will allow it accelerate its presence in the European market.