Spirit offer is ‘best and final,’ seeks further vote delay

Frontier Airways has requested Spirit Airways to additional delay a shareholder vote on their deliberate merger to drum up extra help from traders amid a bidding conflict with rival suitor JetBlue Airways.

In a letter despatched to Spirit’s CEO dated Sunday, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle known as the airline’s just lately sweetened cash-and-stock bid to mix with the man funds service its “final, greatest and last” supply and raised considerations a few lack of shareholder help for the deal, first introduced in February.

Spirit has repeatedly delayed a shareholder vote on the Frontier tie-up to proceed talks with each airways and collect votes. JetBlue is providing a $3.7 billion all-cash deal. Frontier’s CEO mentioned in his letter: “We nonetheless stay very removed from acquiring approval from Spirit stockholders.”

Biffle requested that Spirit postpone its shareholder assembly, now slated for July 15, to July 27 to permit extra time to garner votes in favor of the merger, except a majority of votes in favor of the mixture have been acquired by 11 a.m. on July 15.

CNBC final week reported that Spirit did not seem to have sufficient votes to help the merger, based on individuals acquainted with the matter.

“As has been the case all through this course of, we stay dedicated to this transaction,” Frontier’s Biffle wrote. “Nonetheless, ought to the Spirit Board of Administrators conclude that it will as an alternative need to pursue an alternate transaction with JetBlue, we’d admire being suggested of that dedication.”

Shares of each corporations have been off in noon buying and selling, with Spirit down 1.7% and Frontier lower than 1% after the letter was made public in a securities submitting. Shares of JetBlue have been down 2.1%.

A merger between Spirit and Frontier would create a budget-carrier behemoth, although both mixture would create the fifth-largest service within the U.S. behind American, Delta, United and Southwest.

Spirit has repeatedly rebuffed JetBlue’s advances, arguing a takeover by that airline can be unlikely to win approval from the Justice Division.

Frontier made the identical argument in its letter Sunday, noting a latest dedication by the Division of Transportation that granted Spirit 16 extra slots at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport and decided the airline had a aggressive benefit over JetBlue and different candidates.

“The trail to regulatory approval of a JetBlue-Spirit mixture appears extra unattainable by the day,” Frontier mentioned in its letter.

JetBlue declined to touch upon Frontier’s letter. Its CEO Robin Hayes mentioned final week after the newest vote postponement that the service was hopeful the Spirit administrators “now acknowledge that Spirit shareholders have indicated their clear, overwhelming desire for an settlement with JetBlue.”

Spirit did not instantly remark.