Spirit Airlines plans to announce a decision on whether to merge with JetBlue Airways or Frontier Airlines, which have been in a monthslong bidding war, by the end of June.
The budget airline’s board of directors is holding talks with both carriers after JetBlue sweetened its bid last Monday, raising its offer by $150 million. The company expects to announce its decision at a stockholder meeting on June 30, Spirit said in a statement Tuesday.
FLYING HIGH: JETBLUE RAISES OFFER FOR SPIRIT AIRLINES AMID BIDDING WAR
“Spirit’s Board of Directors is engaging in discussions with JetBlue with respect to the proposal received on June 6, 2022 and is also continuing to work with Frontier under the terms of the existing merger agreement between Spirit and Frontier,” said Ted Christie, president and CEO of Spirit, in a statement. “As part of this process, Frontier and JetBlue are being given access to the same due diligence information, on the same terms.”
JetBlue and Frontier have been involved in a lengthy bidding war to merge with the budget airline. JetBlue’s enhanced bid includes a reverse breakup fee of $350 million in the event that a merger between the two carriers fails to win regulatory approval. Frontier offered $250 million in the event the merger wasn’t approved by regulators.
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Shareholders were set to vote on a merger agreement with Frontier on June 10, though the meeting was pushed back.
Spirit said it remained bound by the terms of that agreement, which was first announced in February, as of Tuesday.
