July 7 (Reuters) – Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.N) said it has postponed shareholders’ vote scheduled for Friday on its $ 2.4 billion sale to Frontier Group Holdings Inc (ULCC.O) for its board can continue discussions with Frontier and JetBlue. Airways.
Reuters first reported the expected delay.
In recent months, JetBlue and Frontier, led by influential airline investor Bill Franke, have repeatedly increased their bids for Spirit, seeking to create the fifth-largest airline in the United States.
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The vote by Spirit shareholders, which has been delayed twice before, is being pushed back for the third time to give Spirit and JetBlue time to finalize a deal, sources told Reuters, requesting anonymity as discussions they are confidential.
Spirit said he now plans to hold a special meeting on July 15.
JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said in a statement that the airline was “encouraged by our discussions with Spirit and we hope they now recognize that Spirit shareholders have indicated their clear and overwhelming preference for a deal with JetBlue. “.
JetBlue filed a $ 3.7 billion cash offer last month, but Spirit has been reluctant to accept JetBlue’s much more economically attractive offer because of concerns that antitrust regulators may reject it, according to sources .
JetBlue is already facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice for its partnership with American Airlines (AAL.O) in the New York and Boston areas.
There is no certainty that JetBlue will provide Spirit with the necessary guarantees in the regulatory field to reach an agreement and Frontier, which has already improved its offer, may return with a new offer, the sources added.
The Frontier deal is also expected to face antitrust scrutiny. But Spirit and some analysts say the deal is more likely to get regulators approval.
Both bidders see Spirit as an opportunity to expand their domestic footprint and reshape the U.S. airline industry, which is largely dominated by four domestic airlines. The acquisition of any of the bidders would occur at a time when the industry is currently struggling with labor and aircraft shortages.
Last week, Spirit was forced to postpone the shareholders’ vote until July 8. Sources said he did not have enough shareholders to support the Frontier deal at the time.
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Report by Anirban Sen and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York and David Shepardson in Washington; additional report by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Edited by Greg Roumeliotis, Bill Berkrot and Edwina Gibbs
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