Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is on the hunt for a bankruptcy loan totaling as much as $1.5 billion after regulators blocked the rental car company from pursuing a sale of what likely would be worthless stock, MarketWatch.com reported. Hertz this week reached out to existing creditors, as well as potential outside investors, for a debtor-in-possession loan sized at $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion. The car rental company sought chapter 11 in May without a deal with creditors and without a bankruptcy loan to fund its business, unusual for a company of Hertz's size saddled with roughly $19 billion in debt. At the time, the company's finance chief said Hertz had enough cash on hand to fund its operations at least through the initial stage of the case. But as the company's bankruptcy case drags on amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic fallout on travel, the need for financing has become more acute. Hertz's need for cash became more critical after the company pulled the plug on its plan to raise up to $500 million through the sale of its stock during the reorganization.
