The Omnibus Corporation

The Omnibus Corporation (also Omnibus Corporation of America) was formed in 1925 and acquired control of Fifth Avenue Coach Company and the Chicago Motor Coach Company with John D. Hertz as chairman.^[1] In 1953 it purchased Yellow Drive-It-Yourself from General Motors and sold its interests in public transport. The following year the company was renamed The Hertz Corporation and was floated on the New York Stock Exchange.

History

The company was formed in 1925 and acquired control of Fifth Avenue Coach Company and the Chicago Motor Coach Company.^[1] The company was also sometimes known as the 'Omnibus Corporation of America'.^[2]

In between 1925 and 1936, The Omnibus Corporation also acquired streetcar companies along Madison Avenue and Eighth Avenue.^[1]

In 1953 the Omnibus Corporation acquired assets of the 'Yellow Drive-It-Yourself' from General Motors^[3] (John Hertz had previously sold his rental business 'Hertz Drivurself Corp' to General Motors in 1926 as a subsidiary of Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company^[4]). At the same time the company "divested itself of its bus interests and concentrated solely on car and truck renting and leasing.'^[5]

In 1954 the company renamed itself The Hertz Corporation and was floated on the New York Stock Exchange.^[6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Fifth Avenue Transportation Company, 1885-1895; Fifth Avenue Coach Company, 1895-1962, New York, New York". http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/f/fifth_avenue/fifth_avenue.htm. 
2. ^ "Gas-Electric Motorbus Co., Roland Gas-Electric Vehicle Co., New York Motor Bus Co., National Motor Bus Corp..". http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/a/american_motor_bus/american_motor_bus.htm. "The July, 1924 issue of The Motorman and Conductor contained an article from the July 16, New York Times: “Chicago - July 15 – Plans embracing the extension of motor coach operation to urban and rural communities in every part of the United States are being made by the Omnibus Corporation of America, according to a statement made today by John Hertz, chairman of the board of directors. The corporation is a consolidation of the Fifth Avenue Coach Company of New York and the Chicago Motor Coach company. “Mr. Hertz said that it was not the purpose of the corporation to enter into competition with street car companies or railroads, but to work with them for the rehabilitation of street car companies or parts of railroads in sections were the service was now inadequate.”" 
3. ^ "John Daniel Hertz". http://www.stfrancis.edu/content/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograph/jhertz.htm. "Hertz was not finished in the rental business though because in 1953 Hertz bought the Yellow Drive-It-Yourself Company back from the General Motors Company. Once he bought the company back he changed the name of it to Hertz Rent-A-Car." 
4. ^ "Business & Finance: General Motors". Time. July 12, 1926. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,729325,00.html. "Drivurself. By establishing the Hertz Drivurself Corp.( subsidiary of G. M. C.'s Yellow Truck & Coach Mfg. Co.) to rent motors to the public, G. M. C. becomes an enormous (and profitmaking) consumer of its own cars and accessories." 
5. ^ "Hertz". Coachbuilt. http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/h/hertz/hertz.htm. "In 1953, the Hertz properties were bought from GMC by the Omnibus Corporation, which divested itself of its bus interests and concentrated solely on car and truck renting and leasing." 
6. ^ "Hertz History". https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/abouthertz/index.jsp?targetPage=aboutHertzHistoryView.jsp. "In 1953, the Hertz properties were bought from GMC by the Omnibus Corporation, which divested itself of its bus interests and concentrated solely on car and truck renting and leasing. A year later, a new name was taken -- The Hertz Corporation -- and it was listed for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange." 

External links

• The Cravath firm and its predecessors, 1819-1947 Some interesting information about ownership and takeovers. See page 368 and other places.