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Cendant

January 01, 1970

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 York City, the majority of its headquarters employees were in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey.

Cendant Corporation
FormerlyHospitality Franchise Systems
Company typePublic
IndustryBusiness and consumer services
FoundedDecember 18, 1997 (1997-12-18) as Cendant Corporation)
Defunct2006
FateRenamed as Avis Budget Group after divestiture of real estate, travel and hotel divisions
SuccessorAvis Budget Group
Headquarters
New York
,
United States
Key people
Henry R. Silverman (CEO)
Websitecendant.com

Its last CEO was Henry Silverman.

History edit

Founding edit

Hospitality Franchise Systems Inc. (HFS) was created as an affiliate of the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, as a vehicle to acquire hotel franchises.[1] It was led by Henry Silverman, a Blackstone partner and former CEO of Days Inn.[2] It began in 1990 by buying Howard Johnson's and the U.S. rights to the Ramada brand from Prime Motor Inns for $170 million.[2][3] In 1992, HFS bought the Days Inn franchise out of bankruptcy for $290 million.[4] This purchase made HFS the largest hotel franchisor in the world, with its brands licensed to 2,300 hotels.[5]

Blackstone took Hospitality Franchise Systems public in a December 1992 IPO.[6] HFS was among the fastest growing companies of its size in the 1990s and the company's stock rose from its IPO price of $4 per share to $77 per share in 1998.

In 1993, HFS purchased the Super 8 brand, franchised to 1,000 motels, for $125 million,[7][8] and bought the 61-hotel Park Inn brand.[9] The company made a brief foray into the casino industry, but then spun off that business in November 1994 as National Gaming.[10] In 1995, HFS launched a new hotel brand, Wingate Inn.[11]

After company management found that they had mostly exhausted the field of desirable acquisition targets in the hotel industry, Hospitality Franchise Systems expanded into the real estate business.[12] Silverman hoped that HFS's skills at franchise management would bring success in fields outside of hospitality.[13] In August 1995, it acquired Century 21, a franchised chain of brokerages, from MetLife for $200 million.[14] The company changed its name to HFS Inc. the same month, to reflect its broadened scope.[15][13] This was followed the next year with the acquisition of Electronic Realty Associates for $37 million,[16] and Coldwell Banker for $740 million, making HFS the largest franchisor of real estate brokerages in the U.S.[17]

In 1996, HFS acquired the Avis car rental company for $793 million.[18][19] In keeping with HFS's strategy of being primarily a franchisor, it kept ownership of the Avis brand name and reservations system, while selling off the operations of Avis's corporate-owned locations as a new company, Avis Rent a Car, Inc.[20][21] HFS also bought Resort Condominiums International, a timeshare exchange service, for up to $825 million.[22][23]

In 1997, HFS acquired PHH Corp. for $1.8 billion.[24] PHH's businesses of mortgage brokerage, relocation services, and fleet management were expected to synergize with HFS's real estate and car rental businesses.[25]

However, later that year, Silverman led HFS into what would prove a disastrous merger with CUC International, a direct marketing company that operated discount membership programs like Shoppers Advantage and Travelers Advantage. HFS and CUC combined in a "merger of equals" on December 18, 1997, to form Cendant Corporation.[26][27] As part of the merger, Silverman announced he would reduce his day-to-day involvement with the company and assume the company's chairmanship in preference of CUC's founder and CEO Walter Forbes.

In January 1998, Cendant purchased Jackson Hewitt, a franchised chain of tax preparation offices, for $480 million.[28][29]

Accounting scandal edit

Just months after the merger, in April 1998 Cendant uncovered massive accounting improprieties at CUC which resulted in one of the largest financial scandals of the 1990s. At the time, Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton was reported to have inflated the company's revenue by $500 million over a period of three years. He had reported a 1997 net income of $55.4 million when the true 1997 result was a net loss of $217.2 million. As these irregularities in the books of Cendant were discovered in early 1998, an audit committee set up by Cendant's Board of Directors launched an investigation and discovered that the former management team of CUC, including its top executives Walter Forbes and Kirk Shelton, had been fraudulently preparing false business statements for several years.[citation needed] When this report was released to the public, the resulting damage to the market value for the company was approximately $14 billion, with their stock tumbling from a high of $41 down to nearly $12. At the time, this fiasco was the largest case of accounting fraud in the country's history. After the accounting scandal was uncovered, Silverman and the Cendant board forced Forbes’ resignation and Silverman assumed the CEO post.

In March 2001, Forbes and Shelton were indicted by a federal grand jury and sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the company of directing the massive accounting fraud that ultimately cost the company and its investors billions of dollars. Shelton served 8 of his 10-year prison sentence before being released early for exemplary behavior. Former CEO Walter Forbes was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2007.

Under Silverman, Cendant bounced back from the accounting scandal far outperforming the markets in the early 2000s.

Post-scandal edit

Following the fraud debacle, Cendant began selling businesses to reduce its debt and repair the financial damage caused by the accounting scandal.[30] In 1998 the company sold Hebdo Mag, a publisher of classified advertising publications, for $450 million to a management buyout group.[31][32] In 1999 it sold its consumer software division, Cendant Software (consisting of Blizzard Entertainment, Davidson & Associates, Knowledge Adventure, and Sierra On-Line), to French publisher Havas for $770 million.[31][33]

By 2001, Cendant was again in acquisition mode.[34] It re-acquired the operations of Avis Rent a Car for $937 million.[35][36] It made moves towards building a major online travel portal by acquiring Galileo International for $2.9 billion,[37][38] and Cheap Tickets for $425 million.[39][40] It entered the timeshare sales and management business by buying Fairfield Communities for $690 million,[41][42] and Trendwest Resorts for $980 million.[43][44] In 2002, Cendant bought Budget Rent a Car out of bankruptcy for $110 million plus $2.8 billion in assumed debt.[45] The combination of Budget with Avis made Cendant the second-largest car rental company in the U.S.[45]

In 2004, Cendant began a series of moves to simplify its business and focus on its core areas of real estate and travel.[46]

As part of this strategy, several non-core businesses were sold or spun off. In June 2004, Cendant sold Jackson Hewitt for $638 million through an initial public offering.[47] In January 2005, Cendant spun off its mortgage and fleet management businesses as PHH Corporation.[48][49] The next month, Cendant sold its Wright Express division, a provider of fleet cards, for $1.03 billion through an initial public offering.[50] In October 2005, Cendant sold its marketing services division, including its membership shopping programs, to Affinion Group, a vehicle of Apollo Management, for $1.8 billion.[51][52]

Meanwhile, proceeds from these sales were used for acquisitions to expand Cendant's core businesses. In November 2004, Cendant purchased Orbitz, the third-largest travel booking site in the U.S., for $1.2 billion.[53][54] In December 2004, Cendant consolidated its control of the Ramada name by buying out Marriott International's stake in the hotel brand.[55][56] In February 2005, Cendant acquired Ebookers, the second-largest travel booking site in Europe, for $350 million.[57][58] In April 2005, Cendant acquired Gullivers Travel Associates, a British seller of travel packages and wholesale hotel nights, for $1.1 billion.[59][60] In October 2005, the company bought the Wyndham hotel brand from Blackstone for $111 million.[61][62]

Breakup edit

On October 23, 2005, Cendant's strategy of simplification culminated in the announcement that it would split into four separate companies, focused respectively on hotels, real estate, travel services, and rental cars.[63] Silverman said the breakup would improve shareholder value by allowing the market to better recognize the value of Cendant's component businesses.[64]

Cendant originally planned to spin off its travel services division to shareholders as a company named Travelport, but on June 30, 2006, Cendant announced it would sell Travelport to Blackstone for $4.3 billion.[65]

On July 31, 2006, Cendant's real estate and hotel divisions were spun off and became separate companies under the names Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide, respectively.[66][67]

The sale of Travelport to Blackstone was completed on August 23, 2006.[68] This left Cendant with only its car rental business, comprising Avis, Budget Rent a Car, and Budget Truck Rental. The company retired the Cendant name and renamed itself to Avis Budget Group on September 1, 2006.[69][70]

Former brands edit

Automobile rentals edit

Cendant owned the rental brands of Avis and Budget, holding these properties in the CCRG (Cendant Car Rental Group). Avis and Budget operate a shared fleet of cars, and have the same "back end" system, but operate at different locations, offer different service levels, and have somewhat different pricing. After the Cendant name was dissolved, the car rental segment became known as Avis Budget Group and currently trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol CAR.

Hotel franchises edit

These brands were spun off into Wyndham Worldwide.

Real estate franchises edit

These companies are now under the Realogy banner.

Membership programs edit

These companies are now under the Affinion Group banner.

  • CUC International (Comp-U-Card)
  • Shopper's Advantage
  • AutoVantage
  • Traveler's Advantage
  • Buyer's Advantage
  • NetMarket
  • PrivacyGuard

Travel services edit

These brands were separated into a new company called Travelport.

Timeshare companies edit

These companies are owned by Wyndham Worldwide.

Vacation network groups edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Iris Taylor (October 28, 1990). "Hospitality on the move". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  2. ^ a b Iris Taylor (June 14, 1990). "Prime Motor to sell 2 hotel franchises". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  3. ^ Joseph Woelfel (July 3, 1990). "Hotelier braces for loss". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  4. ^ "Sale of Days Inns hotel chain franchise business completed". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, IA. AP. February 2, 1992 – via NewsBank.
  5. ^ "Takeover of Days Inn would create world's biggest hotel franchiser". Houston Chronicle. Reuters. October 1, 1991 – via NewsBank.
  6. ^ "Hospitality Franchise sells 6 million shares to public". The New York Times. December 10, 1992. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  7. ^ "Super 8 deal is done". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ. May 4, 1993 – via NewsBank.
  8. ^ Marilee Loboda Braue (February 17, 1993). "Hotel giant makes room for one more". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  9. ^ Beth Fitzgerald (June 29, 1993). "Hospitality Franchise purchases Park Inn, has plans for Days Inn-type". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  10. ^ "Hospitality Franchise: Sees trading symbol of 'NAGC'". Dow Jones News Service. November 10, 1994.  – via Factiva (subscription required)
  11. ^ Stephen G. Hirsch (April 27, 1995). "A hotel window of opportunity". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  12. ^ Mark Lowery (June 30, 1996). "HFS gobbling up the competition". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  13. ^ a b Edwin McDowell (January 4, 1996). "HFS is a fast-moving company whose share price has soared". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  14. ^ David Klein (September 29, 1995). "HFS shakes up Century 21". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  15. ^ Donna Rosato (December 7, 1995). "Hotel franchiser books success". USA Today – via NewsBank.
  16. ^ Beth W. Orenstein (February 18, 1996). "HFS buys Century 21, ERA but realtors expect little change". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA – via NewsBank.
  17. ^ Robert Keefe (June 1, 1996). "Coldwell Banker now part of HFS". Tampa Bay Times – via NewsBank.
  18. ^ Edwin McDowell (July 2, 1996). "HFS will acquire employee-controlled Avis for $800 million in cash and stock". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  19. ^ "HFS completes purchase of Avis". Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, FL. Bloomberg. October 18, 1996 – via NewsBank.
  20. ^ "Avis shares hit the Street jumping". The Baltimore Sun. Bloomberg. September 25, 1997. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  21. ^ Don Stancavish (July 2, 1996). "Avis to join HFS fold". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  22. ^ Mark Lowery (October 8, 1996). "HFS buys time-share firm". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  23. ^ "HFS acquisition". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ. November 13, 1996 – via NewsBank.
  24. ^ Sean Somerville (May 1, 1997). "Sale of PHH to HFS OK'd too fast for tears". The Baltimore Sun – via NewsBank.
  25. ^ Sean Somerville (February 16, 1997). "Little guy grows fast". The Baltimore Sun – via NewsBank.
  26. ^ Mark Lowery (May 28, 1997). "$10.9B 'merger of equals': HFS hooks up with CUC". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  27. ^ Beth Fitzgerald (December 19, 1997). "Merged partners adopt new name". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  28. ^ Tom Shean (January 7, 1998). "Jackson Hewitt sale is nearly complete". The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk, VA – via NewsBank.
  29. ^ "Jackson Hewitt deal complete". The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk, VA. January 9, 1998 – via NewsBank.
  30. ^ John T. Ward (May 25, 1999). "Cendant trims the fat by selling car business". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  31. ^ a b Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Cendant Corporation. March 1, 2000. pp. 33–34 – via EDGAR.
  32. ^ John T. Ward (August 13, 1998). "Cendant showing promised restraint". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  33. ^ Melissa Pozsgay (November 21, 1998). "Vivendi buys Torrance software unit". Daily Breeze. Torrance, CA – via NewsBank.
  34. ^ Howard Wolinsky (June 8, 2001). "Galileo travel company in talks to be bought". Chicago Sun-Times – via NewsBank.
  35. ^ "Cendant takes off with Avis". CNN Money. November 13, 2000. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  36. ^ "Cendant completes acquisition of Avis Group Holdings, Inc" (Press release). Cendant Corporation. March 1, 2001 – via EDGAR.
  37. ^ Greg Griffin (June 24, 2001). "Cendant to propel Denver's Trip.com". The Denver Post – via NewsBank.
  38. ^ "Cendant completes Galileo buy". Rocky Mountain News. October 2, 2001 – via NewsBank.
  39. ^ Russ Lynch (October 9, 2001). "Cheap Tickets exec gets new post". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via NewsBank.
  40. ^ Russ Lynch (October 8, 2001). "Cendant closes offer for Cheap Tickets". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via NewsBank.
  41. ^ "Cendant to buy No. 1 operator of timeshares". The Baltimore Sun. Bloomberg. November 3, 2000. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  42. ^ Jim Lovel (April 12, 2001). "LR office of Fairfield set to clos". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette – via NewsBank.
  43. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Cendant Corporation. March 5, 2003. p. 14 – via EDGAR.
  44. ^ Robert Burgess (April 2, 2002). "Cendant acquiring Trendwest". The Seattle Times. Bloomberg – via NewsBank.
  45. ^ a b Thomas S. Brown (November 26, 2002). "Cendant adds Budget to fold". The Daytona Beach News-Journal – via NewsBank.
  46. ^ Kevin G. DeMarrais (November 24, 2004). "Cendant spinoff could yield $1B". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  47. ^ Raymond Hennessey (June 23, 2004). "Jackson Hewitt inches up after first day on markets". The Press of Atlantic City. Dow Jones – via NewsBank.
  48. ^ Teresa M. McAleavy (February 2, 2005). "Cendant completes its spinoff of PHH Corp". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  49. ^ "PHH Corporation completes spin-off from Cendant Corporation" (Press release). PHH Corporation. January 31, 2005 – via EDGAR.
  50. ^ Matt Wickenheiser (February 17, 2005). "Wright Express offering seen as good for Maine". Portland Press Herald – via NewsBank.
  51. ^ Rob Varnon (July 27, 2005). "Cendant divisions to be sold". Connecticut Post – via NewsBank.
  52. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Affinion Group. March 23, 2007. p. 40 – via EDGAR.
  53. ^ Kathy Bergen (September 30, 2004). "Cendant to buy No. 3 Web travel firm". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  54. ^ "Cendant Corporation completes acquisition of Orbitz, Inc" (Press release). Cendant Corporation. November 12, 2004 – via EDGAR.
  55. ^ Kevin G. DeMarrais (September 16, 2004). "Agreement would give Cendant full control over Ramada brand". The Record. Hackensack, NJ – via NewsBank.
  56. ^ "Cendant Hotel Group completes acquisition of Ramada International" (Press release). Marriott International. December 10, 2004 – via HospitalityNet.
  57. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Cendant Corporation. March 1, 2005. p. 19 – via EDGAR.
  58. ^ "Cendant gets British travel site". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ. December 3, 2004 – via NewsBank.
  59. ^ "Cendant acquires U.K. travel firm". The Record. Hackensack, NJ. April 2, 2005 – via NewsBank.
  60. ^ "Cendant Corporation acquires Gullivers Travel Associates And OctopusTravel.com" (Press release). Cendant Corporation. December 16, 2004 – via EDGAR.
  61. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Cendant Corporation. March 1, 2006. p. F-24 – via EDGAR.
  62. ^ Jerry W. Jackson (September 15, 2005). "Cendant acquires Wyndham brand". The Orlando Sentinel – via NewsBank.
  63. ^ Ellen Simon (October 24, 2005). "Travel, real-estate giant Cendant to split into four companies". Associated Press – via NewsBank.
  64. ^ Joseph R. Perone (October 25, 2005). "Investors skeptical about Cendant spinoffs". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  65. ^ Claudia H. Deutsch (July 1, 2006). "Blackstone plans to acquire Cendant travel services unit". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  66. ^ "Cendant Corporation completes spin-offs of Realogy Corporation and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation" (Press release). Cendant Corporation. July 31, 2006 – via EDGAR.
  67. ^ Joseph R. Perone (August 1, 2006). "Cendant's split into 4 firms effective today". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ – via NewsBank.
  68. ^ "Blackstone Group completes acquisition of Cendant's Travelport subsidiary" (Press release). The Blackstone Group. August 23, 2006. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  69. ^ Form 8-K: Current Report (Report). Avis Budget Group. September 5, 2006 – via EDGAR.
  70. ^ Kaja Whitehouse (August 30, 2006). "Cendant changes wrapped up at tense meeting". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ. Dow Jones – via NewsBank.

External links edit

    • Historical business data for Cendant:
    • SEC filings

January 01, 1970
cendant, corporation, american, provider, business, consumer, services, primarily, within, real, estate, travel, industries, 2005, 2006, broke, spun, sold, constituent, businesses, although, based, york, city, majority, headquarters, employees, were, parsippan. 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 York City the majority of its headquarters employees were in Parsippany Troy Hills New Jersey Cendant CorporationFormerlyHospitality Franchise SystemsCompany typePublicIndustryBusiness and consumer servicesFoundedDecember 18 1997 1997 12 18 as Cendant Corporation Defunct2006FateRenamed as Avis Budget Group after divestiture of real estate travel and hotel divisionsSuccessorAvis Budget GroupHeadquartersNew York United StatesKey peopleHenry R Silverman CEO Websitecendant wbr com Its last CEO was Henry Silverman Contents 1 History 1 1 Founding 1 2 Accounting scandal 1 3 Post scandal 1 4 Breakup 2 Former brands 2 1 Automobile rentals 2 2 Hotel franchises 2 3 Real estate franchises 2 4 Membership programs 2 5 Travel services 2 6 Timeshare companies 2 7 Vacation network groups 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editFounding edit Hospitality Franchise Systems Inc HFS was created as an affiliate of the Blackstone Group a private equity firm as a vehicle to acquire hotel franchises 1 It was led by Henry Silverman a Blackstone partner and former CEO of Days Inn 2 It began in 1990 by buying Howard Johnson s and the U S rights to the Ramada brand from Prime Motor Inns for 170 million 2 3 In 1992 HFS bought the Days Inn franchise out of bankruptcy for 290 million 4 This purchase made HFS the largest hotel franchisor in the world with its brands licensed to 2 300 hotels 5 Blackstone took Hospitality Franchise Systems public in a December 1992 IPO 6 HFS was among the fastest growing companies of its size in the 1990s and the company s stock rose from its IPO price of 4 per share to 77 per share in 1998 In 1993 HFS purchased the Super 8 brand franchised to 1 000 motels for 125 million 7 8 and bought the 61 hotel Park Inn brand 9 The company made a brief foray into the casino industry but then spun off that business in November 1994 as National Gaming 10 In 1995 HFS launched a new hotel brand Wingate Inn 11 After company management found that they had mostly exhausted the field of desirable acquisition targets in the hotel industry Hospitality Franchise Systems expanded into the real estate business 12 Silverman hoped that HFS s skills at franchise management would bring success in fields outside of hospitality 13 In August 1995 it acquired Century 21 a franchised chain of brokerages from MetLife for 200 million 14 The company changed its name to HFS Inc the same month to reflect its broadened scope 15 13 This was followed the next year with the acquisition of Electronic Realty Associates for 37 million 16 and Coldwell Banker for 740 million making HFS the largest franchisor of real estate brokerages in the U S 17 In 1996 HFS acquired the Avis car rental company for 793 million 18 19 In keeping with HFS s strategy of being primarily a franchisor it kept ownership of the Avis brand name and reservations system while selling off the operations of Avis s corporate owned locations as a new company Avis Rent a Car Inc 20 21 HFS also bought Resort Condominiums International a timeshare exchange service for up to 825 million 22 23 In 1997 HFS acquired PHH Corp for 1 8 billion 24 PHH s businesses of mortgage brokerage relocation services and fleet management were expected to synergize with HFS s real estate and car rental businesses 25 However later that year Silverman led HFS into what would prove a disastrous merger with CUC International a direct marketing company that operated discount membership programs like Shoppers Advantage and Travelers Advantage HFS and CUC combined in a merger of equals on December 18 1997 to form Cendant Corporation 26 27 As part of the merger Silverman announced he would reduce his day to day involvement with the company and assume the company s chairmanship in preference of CUC s founder and CEO Walter Forbes In January 1998 Cendant purchased Jackson Hewitt a franchised chain of tax preparation offices for 480 million 28 29 Accounting scandal edit Just months after the merger in April 1998 Cendant uncovered massive accounting improprieties at CUC which resulted in one of the largest financial scandals of the 1990s At the time Vice Chairman E Kirk Shelton was reported to have inflated the company s revenue by 500 million over a period of three years He had reported a 1997 net income of 55 4 million when the true 1997 result was a net loss of 217 2 million As these irregularities in the books of Cendant were discovered in early 1998 an audit committee set up by Cendant s Board of Directors launched an investigation and discovered that the former management team of CUC including its top executives Walter Forbes and Kirk Shelton had been fraudulently preparing false business statements for several years citation needed When this report was released to the public the resulting damage to the market value for the company was approximately 14 billion with their stock tumbling from a high of 41 down to nearly 12 At the time this fiasco was the largest case of accounting fraud in the country s history After the accounting scandal was uncovered Silverman and the Cendant board forced Forbes resignation and Silverman assumed the CEO post In March 2001 Forbes and Shelton were indicted by a federal grand jury and sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission which accused the company of directing the massive accounting fraud that ultimately cost the company and its investors billions of dollars Shelton served 8 of his 10 year prison sentence before being released early for exemplary behavior Former CEO Walter Forbes was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2007 Under Silverman Cendant bounced back from the accounting scandal far outperforming the markets in the early 2000s Post scandal edit Following the fraud debacle Cendant began selling businesses to reduce its debt and repair the financial damage caused by the accounting scandal 30 In 1998 the company sold Hebdo Mag a publisher of classified advertising publications for 450 million to a management buyout group 31 32 In 1999 it sold its consumer software division Cendant Software consisting of Blizzard Entertainment Davidson amp Associates Knowledge Adventure and Sierra On Line to French publisher Havas for 770 million 31 33 By 2001 Cendant was again in acquisition mode 34 It re acquired the operations of Avis Rent a Car for 937 million 35 36 It made moves towards building a major online travel portal by acquiring Galileo International for 2 9 billion 37 38 and Cheap Tickets for 425 million 39 40 It entered the timeshare sales and management business by buying Fairfield Communities for 690 million 41 42 and Trendwest Resorts for 980 million 43 44 In 2002 Cendant bought Budget Rent a Car out of bankruptcy for 110 million plus 2 8 billion in assumed debt 45 The combination of Budget with Avis made Cendant the second largest car rental company in the U S 45 In 2004 Cendant began a series of moves to simplify its business and focus on its core areas of real estate and travel 46 As part of this strategy several non core businesses were sold or spun off In June 2004 Cendant sold Jackson Hewitt for 638 million through an initial public offering 47 In January 2005 Cendant spun off its mortgage and fleet management businesses as PHH Corporation 48 49 The next month Cendant sold its Wright Express division a provider of fleet cards for 1 03 billion through an initial public offering 50 In October 2005 Cendant sold its marketing services division including its membership shopping programs to Affinion Group a vehicle of Apollo Management for 1 8 billion 51 52 Meanwhile proceeds from these sales were used for acquisitions to expand Cendant s core businesses In November 2004 Cendant purchased Orbitz the third largest travel booking site in the U S for 1 2 billion 53 54 In December 2004 Cendant consolidated its control of the Ramada name by buying out Marriott International s stake in the hotel brand 55 56 In February 2005 Cendant acquired Ebookers the second largest travel booking site in Europe for 350 million 57 58 In April 2005 Cendant acquired Gullivers Travel Associates a British seller of travel packages and wholesale hotel nights for 1 1 billion 59 60 In October 2005 the company bought the Wyndham hotel brand from Blackstone for 111 million 61 62 Breakup edit On October 23 2005 Cendant s strategy of simplification culminated in the announcement that it would split into four separate companies focused respectively on hotels real estate travel services and rental cars 63 Silverman said the breakup would improve shareholder value by allowing the market to better recognize the value of Cendant s component businesses 64 Cendant originally planned to spin off its travel services division to shareholders as a company named Travelport but on June 30 2006 Cendant announced it would sell Travelport to Blackstone for 4 3 billion 65 On July 31 2006 Cendant s real estate and hotel divisions were spun off and became separate companies under the names Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide respectively 66 67 The sale of Travelport to Blackstone was completed on August 23 2006 68 This left Cendant with only its car rental business comprising Avis Budget Rent a Car and Budget Truck Rental The company retired the Cendant name and renamed itself to Avis Budget Group on September 1 2006 69 70 Former brands editAutomobile rentals edit Cendant owned the rental brands of Avis and Budget holding these properties in the CCRG Cendant Car Rental Group Avis and Budget operate a shared fleet of cars and have the same back end system but operate at different locations offer different service levels and have somewhat different pricing After the Cendant name was dissolved the car rental segment became known as Avis Budget Group and currently trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol CAR Hotel franchises edit These brands were spun off into Wyndham Worldwide AmeriHost Inn Baymont Inn amp Suites Days Inn Days Inn China Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Howard Johnson Knights Inn includes Villager Inn which was merged into Knights Inn in 2004 Ramada Ramada Asia Pacific Super 8 Worldwide Travelodge Wingate Inn Wyndham Hotels amp Resorts Real estate franchises edit These companies are now under the Realogy banner Century 21 Real Estate Citi Habitats Coldwell Banker Corcoran Group ERA Real Estate NRT Sotheby s International Realty Membership programs edit These companies are now under the Affinion Group banner CUC International Comp U Card Shopper s Advantage AutoVantage Traveler s Advantage Buyer s Advantage NetMarket PrivacyGuard Travel services edit These brands were separated into a new company called Travelport CheapTickets TripRewards HotelClub com AoYou com RatesToGo com Galileo CRS Orbitz ebookers Lodging com Asia hotels com Away com travelbag co uk OctopusTravel com Travelport com Gta travel com Gullivers Travel Associates Trust International Timeshare companies edit These companies are owned by Wyndham Worldwide Fairfield Resorts Trendwest Resorts Shell Vacation Club Vacation network groups edit RCI Cuendet Landal GreenParks French Life NovasolSee also editLightfoot v Cendant Mortgage Corp References edit Iris Taylor October 28 1990 Hospitality on the move The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank a b Iris Taylor June 14 1990 Prime Motor to sell 2 hotel franchises The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank Joseph Woelfel July 3 1990 Hotelier braces for loss The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank Sale of Days Inns hotel chain franchise business completed The Gazette Cedar Rapids IA AP February 2 1992 via NewsBank Takeover of Days Inn would create world s biggest hotel franchiser Houston Chronicle Reuters October 1 1991 via NewsBank Hospitality Franchise sells 6 million shares to public The New York Times December 10 1992 Retrieved 2020 11 15 Super 8 deal is done The Star Ledger Newark NJ May 4 1993 via NewsBank Marilee Loboda Braue February 17 1993 Hotel giant makes room for one more The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank Beth Fitzgerald June 29 1993 Hospitality Franchise purchases Park Inn has plans for Days Inn type The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank Hospitality Franchise Sees trading symbol of NAGC Dow Jones News Service November 10 1994 via Factiva subscription required Stephen G Hirsch April 27 1995 A hotel window of opportunity The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank Mark Lowery June 30 1996 HFS gobbling up the competition The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank a b Edwin McDowell January 4 1996 HFS is a fast moving company whose share price has soared The New York Times Retrieved 2020 11 27 David Klein September 29 1995 HFS shakes up Century 21 The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank Donna Rosato December 7 1995 Hotel franchiser books success USA Today via NewsBank Beth W Orenstein February 18 1996 HFS buys Century 21 ERA but realtors expect little change The Morning Call Allentown PA via NewsBank Robert Keefe June 1 1996 Coldwell Banker now part of HFS Tampa Bay Times via NewsBank Edwin McDowell July 2 1996 HFS will acquire employee controlled Avis for 800 million in cash and stock The New York Times Retrieved 2020 11 22 HFS completes purchase of Avis Sun Sentinel Fort Lauderdale FL Bloomberg October 18 1996 via NewsBank Avis shares hit the Street jumping The Baltimore Sun Bloomberg September 25 1997 Retrieved 2020 11 22 Don Stancavish July 2 1996 Avis to join HFS fold The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank Mark Lowery October 8 1996 HFS buys time share firm The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank HFS acquisition The Star Ledger Newark NJ November 13 1996 via NewsBank Sean Somerville May 1 1997 Sale of PHH to HFS OK d too fast for tears The Baltimore Sun via NewsBank Sean Somerville February 16 1997 Little guy grows fast The Baltimore Sun via NewsBank Mark Lowery May 28 1997 10 9B merger of equals HFS hooks up with CUC The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank Beth Fitzgerald December 19 1997 Merged partners adopt new name The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank Tom Shean January 7 1998 Jackson Hewitt sale is nearly complete The Virginian Pilot Norfolk VA via NewsBank Jackson Hewitt deal complete The Virginian Pilot Norfolk VA January 9 1998 via NewsBank John T Ward May 25 1999 Cendant trims the fat by selling car business The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank a b Form 10 K Annual Report Report Cendant Corporation March 1 2000 pp 33 34 via EDGAR John T Ward August 13 1998 Cendant showing promised restraint The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank Melissa Pozsgay November 21 1998 Vivendi buys Torrance software unit Daily Breeze Torrance CA via NewsBank Howard Wolinsky June 8 2001 Galileo travel company in talks to be bought Chicago Sun Times via NewsBank Cendant takes off with Avis CNN Money November 13 2000 Retrieved 2020 11 22 Cendant completes acquisition of Avis Group Holdings Inc Press release Cendant Corporation March 1 2001 via EDGAR Greg Griffin June 24 2001 Cendant to propel Denver s Trip com The Denver Post via NewsBank Cendant completes Galileo buy Rocky Mountain News October 2 2001 via NewsBank Russ Lynch October 9 2001 Cheap Tickets exec gets new post Honolulu Star Bulletin via NewsBank Russ Lynch October 8 2001 Cendant closes offer for Cheap Tickets Honolulu Star Bulletin via NewsBank Cendant to buy No 1 operator of timeshares The Baltimore Sun Bloomberg November 3 2000 Retrieved 2020 11 28 Jim Lovel April 12 2001 LR office of Fairfield set to clos Arkansas Democrat Gazette via NewsBank Form 10 K Annual Report Report Cendant Corporation March 5 2003 p 14 via EDGAR Robert Burgess April 2 2002 Cendant acquiring Trendwest The Seattle Times Bloomberg via NewsBank a b Thomas S Brown November 26 2002 Cendant adds Budget to fold The Daytona Beach News Journal via NewsBank Kevin G DeMarrais November 24 2004 Cendant spinoff could yield 1B The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank Raymond Hennessey June 23 2004 Jackson Hewitt inches up after first day on markets The Press of Atlantic City Dow Jones via NewsBank Teresa M McAleavy February 2 2005 Cendant completes its spinoff of PHH Corp The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank PHH Corporation completes spin off from Cendant Corporation Press release PHH Corporation January 31 2005 via EDGAR Matt Wickenheiser February 17 2005 Wright Express offering seen as good for Maine Portland Press Herald via NewsBank Rob Varnon July 27 2005 Cendant divisions to be sold Connecticut Post via NewsBank Form 10 K Annual Report Report Affinion Group March 23 2007 p 40 via EDGAR Kathy Bergen September 30 2004 Cendant to buy No 3 Web travel firm Baltimore Sun Retrieved 2020 11 21 Cendant Corporation completes acquisition of Orbitz Inc Press release Cendant Corporation November 12 2004 via EDGAR Kevin G DeMarrais September 16 2004 Agreement would give Cendant full control over Ramada brand The Record Hackensack NJ via NewsBank Cendant Hotel Group completes acquisition of Ramada International Press release Marriott International December 10 2004 via HospitalityNet Form 10 K Annual Report Report Cendant Corporation March 1 2005 p 19 via EDGAR Cendant gets British travel site The Star Ledger Newark NJ December 3 2004 via NewsBank Cendant acquires U K travel firm The Record Hackensack NJ April 2 2005 via NewsBank Cendant Corporation acquires Gullivers Travel Associates And OctopusTravel com Press release Cendant Corporation December 16 2004 via EDGAR Form 10 K Annual Report Report Cendant Corporation March 1 2006 p F 24 via EDGAR Jerry W Jackson September 15 2005 Cendant acquires Wyndham brand The Orlando Sentinel via NewsBank Ellen Simon October 24 2005 Travel real estate giant Cendant to split into four companies Associated Press via NewsBank Joseph R Perone October 25 2005 Investors skeptical about Cendant spinoffs The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank Claudia H Deutsch July 1 2006 Blackstone plans to acquire Cendant travel services unit The New York Times Retrieved 2020 11 15 Cendant Corporation completes spin offs of Realogy Corporation and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation Press release Cendant Corporation July 31 2006 via EDGAR Joseph R Perone August 1 2006 Cendant s split into 4 firms effective today The Star Ledger Newark NJ via NewsBank Blackstone Group completes acquisition of Cendant s Travelport subsidiary Press release The Blackstone Group August 23 2006 Retrieved 2020 11 15 Form 8 K Current Report Report Avis Budget Group September 5 2006 via EDGAR Kaja Whitehouse August 30 2006 Cendant changes wrapped up at tense meeting The Star Ledger Newark NJ Dow Jones via NewsBank External links editHistorical business data for Cendant SEC filings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cendant amp oldid 1160971963, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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