Carl Icahn Increases Stake in Hertz Global Holdings

Billionaire and activist shareholder Carl Icahn has increased his stake in Hertz Global Holdings. Through Icahn Capital LP, his stake in Hertz has gone up from 8.7% to 10.8%.  This is based on SEC filings which indicates that Icahn now owns  49.3 million shares in the car rental company.  His holdings of Hertz is now over $1.2billion.

Newly appointed CEO, John Tague, has also committed his future and belief in Hertz by investing $2 million of his own money into the company.  

Carl Icahn who is known for being a very active shareholder was already the largest shareholder of Hertz and had pushed for management changes.  Former CEO, Mark Frissora was forced to step down in an accounting error that forced Hertz to restate its earnings for the past 3 years.

Hertz shares had fallen significantly over recent times.  It operates two distinct divisions: (i) car rental segment, and (ii) equipment rental business (e.g. earth moving equipment, construction trucks, etc).  There are plans to split off the equipment rental company into a standalone company.  However, the accounting scandal will probably cause some delays to the plans.  Hertz has also been hurt by safety recalls which means that cars are taken off the road until the necessary repairs are done.

Only for the patient investor perhaps?