Frontier, JetBlue are at a stalemate in merger battle for Spirit
With a fateful vote a day away, Spirit Airlines Inc. is standing alone at the altar despite having two suitors that have spent months trying to acquire the low-cost carrier. Spirit’s proposed merger with Frontier Group Holdings Inc. doesn’t have enough support from shareholders, and the acquirer has said it’s not sweetening the terms of the deal any further. Meanwhile, Spirit’s talks with would-be merger partner JetBlue Airways Corp. have yet to produce a breakthrough, people familiar with the discussions said. Spirit shareholders are set to decide on Frontier’s $2.6b cash-and-stock proposal on Wednesday, a vote that has been delayed four times already but is likely to go forward as planned this time, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The agreement, reached in February, was upended by an all-cash JetBlue bid that now exceeds $3.7b. Some investors prefer the higher offer, though Spirit and Frontier have argued JetBlue is more likely to be blocked by antitrust regulators. Spirit is continuing talks with both Frontier and JetBlue, so a deal can’t be ruled out completely. But weeks of negotiations with both would-be partners have yet to produce a resolution. In a plea earlier this month for a further delay in the shareholder vote, Frontier said it was still “very far” from winning sufficient support. Two influential advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis, have recommended votes against the Frontier offer. The lag in support for the Frontier deal continues to be the case, according to three people with knowledge of the effort to convince shareholders to back the agreement, though that assessment is based on preliminary figures and may still change ahead of the meeting. Frontier could ask for another delay in the vote, although it already has said it won’t increase the offer now on the table. Spirit’s board reiterated its support for the Frontier agreement as recently as July 13 and was still urging investors to vote for it. Story has more.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-07-27/unaligned/frontier-jetblue-are-at-a-stalemate-in-merger-battle-for-spirit
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Frontier, JetBlue are at a stalemate in merger battle for Spirit
With a fateful vote a day away, Spirit Airlines Inc. is standing alone at the altar despite having two suitors that have spent months trying to acquire the low-cost carrier. Spirit’s proposed merger with Frontier Group Holdings Inc. doesn’t have enough support from shareholders, and the acquirer has said it’s not sweetening the terms of the deal any further. Meanwhile, Spirit’s talks with would-be merger partner JetBlue Airways Corp. have yet to produce a breakthrough, people familiar with the discussions said. Spirit shareholders are set to decide on Frontier’s $2.6b cash-and-stock proposal on Wednesday, a vote that has been delayed four times already but is likely to go forward as planned this time, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The agreement, reached in February, was upended by an all-cash JetBlue bid that now exceeds $3.7b. Some investors prefer the higher offer, though Spirit and Frontier have argued JetBlue is more likely to be blocked by antitrust regulators. Spirit is continuing talks with both Frontier and JetBlue, so a deal can’t be ruled out completely. But weeks of negotiations with both would-be partners have yet to produce a resolution. In a plea earlier this month for a further delay in the shareholder vote, Frontier said it was still “very far” from winning sufficient support. Two influential advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis, have recommended votes against the Frontier offer. The lag in support for the Frontier deal continues to be the case, according to three people with knowledge of the effort to convince shareholders to back the agreement, though that assessment is based on preliminary figures and may still change ahead of the meeting. Frontier could ask for another delay in the vote, although it already has said it won’t increase the offer now on the table. Spirit’s board reiterated its support for the Frontier agreement as recently as July 13 and was still urging investors to vote for it. Story has more.<br/>
