Budget Rent a Car

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Smart Fortwo rental from Budget

Budget Rent a Car is a car rental company that was founded in 1958 in Los Angeles, California by Morris Mirkin. He was joined in 1959 by Julius Lederer (husband of Ann Landers), and in 1960 the headquarters was moved to Chicago, Illinois.

The company was eventually acquired by Transamerica Corporation, and then sold in 1986 in a leveraged buyout by Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., along with management and selected investors. It was taken public in 1987.

The public company purchased by Team Rental Group in 1997, which took the name Budget Group. In 2002 the company's assets were sold to Cendant Corporation, which also owned Avis. In September 2006 Cendant Corporation separated into four independent companies by spinning off its real estate division, now called Realogy, Inc., and its hospitality services division, now Wyndham Worldwide, and by selling its travel distribution services division, called Travelport, Inc., to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group. In 2006, following the Travelport sale, Cendant - now comprised solely of its vehicle rental services businesses, renamed itself Avis Budget Group.