Vote on Spirit, Frontier merger is postponed, again

Jul 13, 2022, 5:11 AM | Updated: 10:01 am
FILE - A line of Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport on May 20,...

FILE - A line of Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport on May 20, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. Spirit Airlines is again postponing a shareholder vote on its proposed merger deal with Frontier Airlines, after Frontier's CEO said in a letter that his airline is “very far” from winning approval by Spirit shareholders. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Days ahead of a shareholder vote at Spirit Airlines over a proposed buyout by rival budget carrier Frontier, the vote was postponed for a fourth time in a signal that the deal still lacks support from investors.

Spirit said Wednesday that the vote on the Frontier Airlines offer would be pushed back from Friday until July 27 so that it can keep talking to Frontier and rival bidder JetBlue Airways.

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said Spirit’s board is delaying the ability of Spirit shareholders to vote on his airline’s offer.

Spirit, based in Miramar, Florida, said it remains committed to the Frontier deal.

Frontier CEO Barry Biffle wrote Sunday that Frontier is “very far” from winning a vote of Spirit shareholders, and he asked for a delay. He added that Frontier has already made its best and final offer, and would waive its right to match if Spirit’s board decides to support a sale to JetBlue.

JetBlue is offering about $1 billion more, but Spirit’s board argues that regulators are more likely to block a JetBlue deal and is advising its shareholders to stick with Denver-based Frontier.

Frontier is offering Spirit shareholders $4.13 in cash and about 1.9 shares of Frontier for every share of Spirit, or more than $2.7 billion at Frontier’s closing price on Tuesday. Spirit shareholders would own 48.5% of the combined airline.

JetBlue, based in New York City, is offering $33.50 per share in cash, and up to $34.15 per share — or about $3.7 billion — including a ticking fee to cover a delay in closing the purchase.

Spirit rebuffed JetBlue in April, but since that time the two airlines have been holding talks.

JetBlue’s Hayes said Wednesday the two sides have made “significant progress,” and that Spirit’s board should clear the way for shareholders to vote on JetBlue’s offer.

Shares of Spirit, Frontier, JetBlue and all other airlines tumbled at the opening bell on some red-hot inflation numbers released by the U.S. Wednesday.

___

Airlines writer David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
3 days ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
3 days ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
9 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
17 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
17 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
24 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...
Fiesta Bowl Foundation

Celebrate 50 years of Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade magic!

Since its first production in the early 1970s, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe has been a staple of Valley traditions, bringing family fun and excitement to downtown Phoenix.
...
Quantum Fiber

How high-speed fiber internet edges out cable for everyday use

In a world where technology drives so much of our daily lives, a lack of high-speed internet can be a major issue.
(Desert Institute for Spine Care photo)...
DESERT INSTITUTE FOR SPINE CARE

Why DISC is world renowned for back and neck pain treatments

Fifty percent of Americans and 90% of people at least 50 years old have some level of degenerative disc disease.
Vote on Spirit, Frontier merger is postponed, again