On the record · Other
Hertz
Carlyle Group, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, and Merrill Lynch PE took Hertz private from Ford for $15B in 2005. The highly leveraged deal contributed to Hertz's 2020 bankruptcy — one of the largest in U.S. history — with $19B in debt. Emerged from bankruptcy in 2021.
Research depth
Outcomes researched
Reviewed operating findings or a classified operating outcome are available.
Record updated Sept. 4, 2026
Current ownership
Current owner not established
This record does not identify a current owner. That absence is a gap in the record, not a conclusion about ownership.
1 ownership record has an unresolved current/former status.
Ownership and transaction history
Chronology from recorded ownership periods, transactions and reviewed outcome events. Event order does not imply causation.
Date not recorded
What happened under and after ownership
Operating outcome
Operating through distress or restructuring
Filed Chapter 11 on May 22, 2020, citing a pandemic-driven collapse in rental demand, and kept renting vehicles throughout the case. A plan backed by Knighthead, Certares and Apollo cut more than $5 billion of debt and took effect June 30, 2021.
Publicly traded (NASDAQ: HTZ) since its 2021 emergence; not controlled by a single private-equity sponsor as of the reorganization.
- Founded
- 1918
- Hertz (company primary) · Chapter 11 plan confirmation, plan sponsors, debt elimination, June 30 2021 effective date
- SEC EDGAR (Hertz Global Holdings 424B4) · Hertz filed Chapter 11 May 22, 2020 and continued rental operations through the case
What we do not know
These are gaps in the public record, not findings about the organization.
- No current public ownership assessment has been published.
Help improve this record
Firsthand experience, public sources and corrections can help close the gaps above.