Controlling interest in Avis, Inc., the nation's sec­ond largest car rental firm, has been bought by Lazard Freres and Co., New York investment bankers.

Avis had been controlled by Amoskeag, a Boston holding company, which had held 910,000 of 1,373,303 outstanding shares of Avis common stock. Lazard Freres declined to say whether all Amoskeag hold­ings were acquired, or to disclose terms of the trans­action. Amoskeag also held warrants to purchase 133,900 additional shares of Avis.

Named board chairman of Avis was John T. Cahill, New York lawyer. JR. C. Townsend, a former Ameri­can Express Co. executive, took over as president.

Townsend replaced Frederick C. "Buck" Duinaine Jr., one time president of the New Haven R. R. The Duinaine family controls Amoskeag.

A spokesman for Lazard Freres said that Avis will show a loss of about $700,000 for the six months ended February 28th. He said more money will probably have to be pumped into Avis and that Avis stock­holders "will have the opportunity to participate in such financing."

Avis, which has about 1,900 car and truck rental and leasing locations in the U. S. and abroad, lost $478,000 in the fiscal year ended August 31, 1960 and $1,381,003 in the fiscal year ended August 31, 1961, when work stoppage hurt operations.