Spirit Airlines extends debt refinancing deadline hours before expiration

Spirit Airlines on Friday said it reached an agreement with its credit card processor to again extended a debt refinancing timeline to December, hours before it was set to hit its deadline. Spirit said in a filing late Friday that earlier this week it drew down the entirety of its $300m revolving credit facility and expects to end the year with just over $1b in liquidity. “As previously disclosed, the Company remains in active and constructive discussions with holders of its senior secured notes due 2025 and convertible senior notes due 2026 with respect to their respective maturities,” Spirit said in a filing late Friday. The deadline was previously set in September and had been extended until Oct. 21 before the Friday change. The airline’s stock closed at a new low Friday, down roughly 3%, at less than $1.50 per share. The Miramar, Florida-based airline has furloughed workers, slashed its schedule and deferred aircraft deliveries to save cash over the past year. Many of its planes have been grounded because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall. It has also reported weaker-than-expected bookings and its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways was scuttled after getting blocked by a federal judge on antitrust grounds. Its shares have tumbled more than 90% so far this year and nearly 40% so far in October alone.<br/>