The battle to take over car hire firm Dollar Thrifty is hotting up between the two main contenders, rivals Avis and Hertz.

Hertz have announced that they’ve upped their offer to take over the US car rental firm to $1.43 billion in cash and shares, which works out at $50 per share. Hertz are believed to be the favoured bidder with Dollar Thrifty as they are offering a $45 million breakup fee should the deal fail, something which Avis cannot afford to match.

Last week Avis made their most recent bid for the company which was $1.3 billion, which has now been topped by Hertz with their $1.43 billion bid.

Negotiations began in April after Hertz made an offer of $41 per share to the smaller company. At this point Avis waded in with a higher bid of $47 per share, which was later rejected.

Hertz is the largest player in the global car hire market but at present, the majority of their sales come from business client customers. Dollar Thrifty, on the other hand, is a key player in the lower end area of the market. Taking over Dollar Thrifty would enable Hertz to take a share of the domestic leisure market, an area which Hertz is keen to enhance its presence across the world.