In an announcement, Hertz Global Holdings Inc said that private equity firms of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, the Carlyle Group and the Bank of America Merrill Lynch have exited their ownership in the company. The three have sold off their shares in the car rental agency for a total amount of US$1.24 billion.

CD&R, BofA-ML and Carlyle have sold a total of 49.8 million shares each worth US$24.96 according to a Hertz press release. Before the sale, Carlyle and CD&R are the third and second largest stockholders in Hertz according to data collated by Thomson Reuters.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice purchased Hertz from the Ford Motor Co last December 2005 for the price of US$5.6 billion. When debt is included, the deal rose to US$15 billion. After the sale, Hertz undertook an initial public offer of its shares.

This sale tops the large stock offers made by investors since the company was taken public in 2006. This comes when the car rental's shares are at their highest in five years.