* * * * *
                                        
                      “Hey, let me own that for a while!”
                                        
Via news from me [1] comes this little fluff piece [2] about the Avis Car
Rental company [3]. What I'm confused by though, is the business of Avis—is
it car rentals, or being bought out?

The story of Avis goes something like:

Warren E. Avis (1946)
 ↓
 Richard Robie (1954)
 ↓
 Amoskeag Co. (1956)
 ↓
 Lazard Frères Co. (1962)
 ↓
 ITT Corporation (1965)
 ↓
 Avis (1972)
 ↓
 Norton Simon (1977)
 ↓
 Esmark (1983)
 ↓
 Beatrice Foods (1984)
 ↓
 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company (1986)
 ↓
 Wesray (1986)
 ↓
 PHH Group, Avis Europe P.L.C (1986) (see article)
 ↓
 Avis, employee owned (1987)
 ↓
 General Motors 26% ownership (1989)
 ↓
 HFS (1996)
 ↓
 Avis goes public (1997)
 ↓
 Cendant 34% ownership (1997)
 ↓
 Cedant (1999)
 ↓
 Avis Budget Group (2006)

and I'm sure a lot of people got rich along the way, but what exactly did
they do?

I mean, other than push some paper back and forth?

[1] http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_05_15.html#013462
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/opinion/16kinsley.html?ex=1336968000&en=da27d1a88532bece&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
[3] http://www.avis.com/

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

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