Large Avis Shareholder Benefited From Share Buybacks, Suit Says

A hedge fund that invested in Avis Budget Group Inc. used share repurchases to gain control of the vehicle rental company without paying a premium and to improve its ownership position, according to a new derivative suit.

The fund, SRS Investment Management LLC, also made several profitable same-day stock transactions once it became a controlling shareholder, investor Paula DeAngelis says in the suit filed April 26 in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Avis President and CEO Joseph Ferraro and Executive Vice President Izilda Martins sold Avis stock based on inside information, DeAngelis also says. And ...