Hertz's Stock Surges After Rental Pact With Lyft

Hertz Global Holdings Inc.'s stock surged 7.9% in premarket trade Thursday, after the car rental company announced an agreement to supply Lyft's U.S. drivers with cars, under certain rental agreements. This expands on the deal reached for the Las Vegas and Denver markets in November. Rental rates will be set for Lyft drivers, who can use the cars for both business and personal use. "Utilizing cars that are rotating out of our consumer rental fleet creates a model that works for Hertz and for Lyft drivers by providing them with well-maintained, good condition cars," said Hertz Chief Executive John Tague. "We consider this agreement to be largely complementary to our car rental business, and it enables us to leverage our fleet and distribution infrastructure to participate in the dramatic growth in the ride sharing, or e--hailing, segment." Hertz's stock has tumbled 24% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 had gained 1.3%.