Carl Icahn Reveals 8.5% Stake In Hertz

(RTTNews) - Activist investor Carl Icahn Wednesday revealed an 8.5 percent stake in car-rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ).

Carl Icahn, in a regulatory filing, said he has acquired an 8.48 percent stake in Hertz and also plans to seek board representations as he believes the the care rental company's stock is undervalued. Icahn now beneficially owns 38.8 million Hertz shares for which he paid about $470.5 million.

Icahn said he intends to have discussions with Hertz's Board relating to shareholder value, accounting issues, operational failures, under performance relative to its peers and his lack of confidence in management.

In January, media reports indicated Icahn had bought 30 million to 40 million shares in Hertz. On December 30, 2013 the car rental company adopted a one-year shareholder rights plan, which is designed to keep investors' stakes below 10 percent.

Icahn's disclosure comes at a time when Hertz is reviewing its financial records of the past three years to fix accounting errors as well as on the path to spin-off of its equipment rental business.

On Tuesday, Hertz announced its decision to withdraw its financial guidance for full year 2014, citing potential revisions related to ongoing accounting review.

HTZ closed Wednesday's trading at $30.33, down $1.23 or 3.90%, on the NYSE. The stock however, gained $0.13 or 0.43% in after-hours trade.