Spirit Airlines ( NYSE: SAVE ) announced that it will terminate its merger agreement with Frontier Air Group ( ULCC ) during Wednesday’s extended session.
The termination follows months of bidding wars over Spirit between Frontier and JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ), prompting multiple postponements of a shareholder vote. Indeed, the company moved to adjourn its meeting on Wednesday morning to a time shortly after the close as anticipation of the deal’s failure built . Just 10 minutes prior to that vote’s expected commencement, the termination was announced.
“While we are disappointed that we had to terminate our proposed merger with Frontier, we are proud of the dedicated work of our Team Members on the transaction over the past many months,” Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ) CEO Ted Christie said. “Moving forward, the Spirit Board of Directors will continue our ongoing discussions with JetBlue as we pursue the best path forward for Spirit and our stockholders.”
The termination and turn to JetBlue is an about-face from Christie, who had previously backed the Frontier offer and called JetBlue’s overtures “ cynical ”.
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Spirit terminates merger with Frontier, to continue talks with JetBlue