Budget Rent a Car is an American

car rental A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches (which allow a user to ...

company that was founded in 1958 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California by

Morris Mirkin Morris Mirkin (1919 – June 27, 1985) was an American businessman who founded Budget Rent-a-Car. Biography Mirkin was born to a Jewish family in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of immigrants from Russia. Mirkin served in the U.S. Air Force during Wo ...

. Budget is a subsidiary of the

Avis Budget Group Avis Budget Group is American car rental agency holding company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. It is the parent company of several brands including Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent a Car, Budget Truck Rental, Payless Car Rental and Zipcar. ...

, with its operations headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

History

With its original fleet of 10 cars, the company lived up to the 'Budget' name by undercutting the daily and per mile rental rates of the established airport based car rental companies. Mirkin was joined in 1959 by Julius Lederer and together, they built the company internationally. In 1960, the headquarters moved to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and the rental fleet expanded with franchised and wholly owned rental outlets. The company was eventually acquired by

Transamerica Corporation The Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. ...

, and then sold in 1986 in a

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...

by Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., along with management (led by CEO Clifton E. Haley) and selected investors. The company made its first public stock offering in 1987. Team Rental Group purchased the public company in 1997 and took the name Budget Group. In 2002, it sold the company's assets to

Cendant Cendant Corporation was an American provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, it broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses. Although it was based in New Yo ...

Corporation, which also owned

Avis Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to: Aviation *Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project) *Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane *Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...

. In September 2006, Cendant Corporation separated into four independent companies. The real estate division became Realogy, Inc., its hospitality services division became

Wyndham Worldwide Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownershi ...

, and the travel distribution services division became Travelport, Inc., an affiliate of The

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...

. In 2006, following the Travelport sale, Cendant, now composed solely of its vehicle rental services businesses, renamed itself

Locations

Worldwide, as of 2019, 2,275 locations are company owned, and 1,650 are licensees; 1,925 offices are located in the Americas, and 2,000 are located internationally.

Celebrity spokespersons

Beginning in April 2011, television actress

Wendie Malick Wendie Malick (born December 13, 1950) is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles in various television comedies. She starred as Judith Tupper Stone in the HBO sitcom '' Dream On'', and as Nina Van Horn in the NBC sitc ...

of ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's highe ...

'' became the spokesperson in a series of television and online ads that offer special, limited-time, discount offers.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1958 establishments in California 1980s initial public offerings 2002 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1958 Avis Budget Group Car rental companies of the United States Franchises Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey Retail companies established in 1958 Transport companies established in 1958

History

Locations

Celebrity spokespersons

See also

References

External links