Established in 1958, Thrifty Car Rental has been on both sides of numerous acquisitions over the years.
Shortly after its IPO in 1987, it expanded drastically with the USD 40m purchase of Snappy Car Rental. Within the same year, it was once again the subject of a multimillion-dollar takeover, this time being acquired by the Chrysler Corporation for USD 263m.
Around ten years later, Chrysler once again established the company as a separate operation, launching an IPO under the name Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. By this time, the company had 872 locations across the United States and over 5,400 staff.
In the years that followed, Thrifty’s reach would increase significantly. By 1999, it had 124,000 vehicles over 149 locations. The latter figure hit 310 by 2003. In 2010, Thrifty was generating revenues of USD 1.5bn, leading to further expansion – up to 331 locations across the United States and Canada.
Two years later, Thrifty Car Rental was involved in another acquisition when the Hertz Corporation announced that it was buying the business for USD 2.3bn
Mainly catering to airport hire and budget-conscious travellers, Thrifty remains one of the largest car rental companies in the world, with over 1,000 locations and annual revenues of over USD 272m.
