Ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (S64) (SAVE) is delaying a shareholder vote on its planned merger with Frontier, after Frontier requested that the meeting be delayed to garner more support for the deal.
The meeting will now take place on July 27, 2022, Spirit said on July 13, 2022, in line with the date that Frontier had requested.
Spirit’s planned $2.4 billion merger with Frontier has seen many twists and turns. After announcing the plans for a tie-up with Frontier in February 2022, low-cost rival JetBlue (JBLU) attempted to crash the party with its own bid in April 2022.
Spirit has repeatedly reiterated its preference for a deal with Frontier, and both sides have altered their bids throughout the process. Frontier said it was “very far” from obtaining approval from Spirit shareholders in its letter of July 10 requesting the delay and also asked Spirit to clarify its intentions regarding the latest JetBlue (JBLU) proposal.
On July 12, shareholder Discovery Capital Management said the JetBlue (JBLU) deal was more favorable, following on from shareholder TIG Advisors, which said in June that it intended to vote against the Frontier deal.
In its statement, Spirit said it will “continue discussions with Frontier and JetBlue (JBLU)” but reiterated its recommendation that shareholders vote for the Frontier transaction.