Spirit delays vote on Frontier deal
Frontier's latest offer for Spirit has the advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc reversing its opinion about a deal, which a month ago it asked shareholders to reject Frontier's offer, saying JetBlue's competing offer was superior
The drama involving the potential airline merger between Spirit Airlines and Frontier Group will be stretched out for at least another week.
Spirit on Wednesday pushed back a shareholder vote on Frontier's merger offer for the budget carrier until next week.
Spirit shareholders had been scheduled to finalize their vote at a special meeting on Thursday.
The meeting will now be held on July 8.
It is not the first time the vote has been delayed. A vote that had been scheduled for June 10 was also delayed.
SPIRIT SHAREHOLDERS URGED TO VOTE FOR SWEETENED FRONTIER OFFER
The delays suggest that Spirit doesn't have the votes from shareholders to back the deal.
Spirit Airlines has been the subject of a bidding war between Frontier Group and JetBlue Airways.
A Spirit Airlines jet in flight. (iStock)
Spirit signed a cash-and-stock deal with rival Frontier in February and JetBlue jumped into the mix in April with an all-cash offer.
JETBLUE OFFERS TO BUY SPIRIT AIRLINES FOR ABOUT $3.6 BILLION CASH
JetBlue's bid is higher, but Spirit has said U.S. regulators would stop that deal.
A Frontier Airlines airplane taxis past a Spirit Airlines aircraft at Indianapolis International Airport. (Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Frontier Group's latest offer for Spirit Airlines has the advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS) reversing its opinion about a deal.
ISS is now urging Spirit shareholders to vote for a proposed merger with Frontier's parent company.
THE RACE FOR SPIRIT AIRLINES: JETBLUE, FRONTIER JOCKEY FOR WIN
That's a change from a month ago when the advisory firm asked Spirit shareholders to reject Frontier's offer, saying JetBlue's competing offer of $30 a share is superior from a financial standpoint.
A JetBlue airliner lands past a Spirit Airlines jet on taxi way at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. (Joe Cavaretta/Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Spirit said last week that Frontier sweetened its offer, raising its cash offer by $2 per share.
SPIRIT, FRONTIER AND JETBLUE: PROS AND CONS
ISS said the current offer from Frontier matches the $2.00 increase in JetBlue's offer price and also provides a higher prepayment of $2.22 per share compared to $1.50 per share from JetBlue.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAVE | SPIRIT AIRLINES INC. | 1.08 | -0.24 | -18.06% |
| ULCC | FRONTIER GROUP HOLDINGS | 6.80 | +0.07 | +1.04% |
| JBLU | JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP. | 7.06 | -0.05 | -0.70% |
Frontier also increased its reverse termination fee to Spirit by $100 million to $350 million.
On Wednesday, Spirit said its board would engage with both the bidders about their offers.
Reuters contributed to this report.