GenesisIntermedia Unit to Merge With MAII

Direct marketer GenesisIntermedia Inc. said it will merge its money-losing car rental unit with MAII Holdings Inc., a company delisted by Nasdaq on Thursday because it no longer complied with listing requirements.

Genesis said it would sell Car Rental Direct.com Inc. to MAII for $11.6 million, a 19% discount to asset value of $14.36 million on June 30, and use all but $400,000 of that sale price to buy 2.8 million shares of MAII for $4 each. Genesis would own 41.3% of Plano, Texas-based MAII.

Shares of Van Nuys-based Genesis fell $3.83 to $14.46 immediately after the news, then recovered to close up 19 cents at $18.02 in heavy trading on Nasdaq. MAII shares rose 10 cents to $3.35 in over-the-counter trading.