Hertz nets court approval for Donlen sale to Apollo affiliate Athene Holding

The bankruptcy court overseeing the Chapter 11 proceedings of Hertz Global Holdings Inc. on March 2 approved the sale of substantially all of the assets of unit Donlen Corp. to Athene Holding, a financial services company and an affiliate of Apollo Management.

Athene was the stalking horse bidder for Donlen. Late last month, the company said that it had not received any qualified competing bids and that it would move ahead with the Athene transaction. Court filings said competing bidders determined that the stalking horse price was too high.

Under the terms of the deal, the purchase price consists of $850 million in cash subject to certain adjustments for working capital, fleet equity and assumed indebtedness that were expected to add an additional $25-$50 million, or about 10x annual EBITDA.

Donlen operates a fleet management solutions business, including vehicle leasing, maintenance management and administrative services. The company said that since its acquisition in 2011, it has operated primarily as a stand-alone business and had not been integrated into the company's rental car business.