Hertz kicks out an IPO underwriter

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Deutsche Bank Securities was dropped as an underwriter of the initial public offering of car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc.

The investment bank was removed after an e-mail written by a Deutsche employee was forwarded to about 175 institutional accounts, according to a filing Wednesday by Hertz with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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"After reviewing the e-mails in question we determined it would be best for our client if we took an extremely cautious approach, so we resigned our role in the offering," Ted Meyer, a spokesman for Americas Deutsche Bank, said in a separate statement.

According to the SEC filing, the e-mail was distributed the week of October 23 and "may constitute a prospectus or prospectuses not meeting the requirements of the Securities Act."

The company, which did not describe the e-mail in detail, said it does not believe the message constitutes an SEC violation.

However, the company "could have a contingent liability arising out of these possible violations of the Securities Act," according to the filing.

Park Ridge, N.J.-based Hertz is scheduled to float shares Nov. 15 in an offering potentially worth almost $1.5 billion if priced at the midpoint of a forecast range. It will compete in the market against such rivals as Avis Budget Group (Charts) and Vanguard Car Rental.

The offering will be underwritten by Goldman, Sachs & Co (Charts)., Lehman Brothers (Charts), Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (Charts) and JPMorgan (Charts).

The company plans to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTZ ."

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