Spirit Airlines plans to delay Frontier deal vote to July 27
2022.07.13 17:55
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FILE PHOTO: Spirit and Frontier Airlines logos are seen in this illustration taken June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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(Reuters) -Spirit Airlines Inc said on Wednesday it intends to delay the shareholder vote on its merger deal with Frontier Group Holdings Inc to July 27 as the latter seeks more time to drum up proxy support for its buyout bid.
“We still remain very far from obtaining approval from Spirit stockholders based on the proxy data we received as of July 8,” Frontier Chief Executive Barry Biffle said in a letter to Spirit.
Spirit signed a cash-and-stock deal with rival Frontier in February to form a new no-frills airline and compete against big national carriers. In April, JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Corp jumped into the fray with an all-cash offer.
Frontier Group’s cash-and-stock offer stands at $25.39 per share. The company, which has declined to further raise its bid, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
JetBlue and Frontier have been fighting to seal a deal, which would expand their domestic footprints and create the fifth largest U.S. airline.
On Tuesday, Spirit shareholder Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Capital Management LLC urged the low-cost carrier to abandon its merger with Frontier in favor of a bid from JetBlue.
If the vote is postponed it will be the fourth time it would have been delayed. It was pushed back for a third time to July 15 to give Spirit and JetBlue time to finalize a deal, sources told Reuters, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential.
