NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) July 29, 2010--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Avis Budget Group Inc.'s (B+/Stable/--) $1.33 billion bid for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (DTAG; B-/Watch Pos/--) will not immediately affect the ratings or outlook on Avis Budget. Our preliminary view is that DTAG's less-leveraged capital structure, its earnings, and some synergies from the companies' integration would largely offset the effect of the additional debt (which could be as much as $1 billion, depending on how much of its cash Avis Budget uses to finance the transaction), leaving Avis Budget's pro forma credit metrics relatively unchanged. We believe the proposed acquisition would be a mild positive for the business risk profile of Avis Budget, since
