(Reuters) – Car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc <HTZ.N> is preparing to file for bankruptcy as soon as Friday night after failing to reach a standstill agreement with its top lenders, the Wall Street Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/2A4ONKs, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company, which operates the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty car-rental brands, had been holding talks with creditors after missing significant car-lease payments in April. Forbearance and waiver agreements on the missed payments were set to expire on Friday.
The creditors had asked for upfront compensation from the company in exchange for a further extension, but the two sides could not come to an agreement, according to the WSJ report.
Hertz did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The more than a century old car rental firm, whose largest shareholder is billionaire investor Carl Icahn, is reeling from government orders restricting travel and requiring citizens to remain home.
Estero, Florida-based Hertz has more than $18 billion of debt and roughly 38,000 employees worldwide as of the end of 2019.
(Reporting by Mike Spector in New York and Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
