Avis Budget Group "would like to make a substantially higher offer to acquire Dollar Thrifty" than Hertz's $1.17 billion proposal, which it suggested was not the "best possible deal"

in a letter sent to Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group's board by Avis Budget CEO Ronald Nelson. Nelson wrote that he was "very surprised" by the offer since there were "several occasions" on which Avis Budget expressed interest in buying Dollar Thrifty but was denied meetings to engage in such discussions. "At no stage over the last several months did [CEO Scott Thompson] or your financial advisor engage us in any discussions about a transaction or offer to provide us with information so that we might submit a bid," wrote Nelson. "Now that we and our advisors have had access to the terms of the merger agreement, we are astonished that you have compounded these shortcomings by agreeing to aggressive lock-up provisions."