Spirit Airlines rejects acquisition offer from Frontier Group again (updated)
12/02/2025 05:14
(Updates with details from statement and background)
Feb 11 (Reuters) - Spirit Airlines SAVEQ.PK on Tuesday
rejected Frontier Group's ULCC.O acquisition offer, worth
about $2.16 billion, saying the bid from its fellow
ultra-low-cost carrier was less beneficial to shareholders than
its ongoing reorganization plan.
Frontier's offer was a reiteration of its proposal from
earlier this month in which it proposed Spirit's shareholders
would get $400 million in debt and a 19% stake in Frontier.
However, it dropped a requirement that Spirit complete a
$350 million equity rights offering and use the proceeds to
retire its debtor-in-possession facility. It also requires the
bankruptcy court-approved $35 million termination fee be waived.
However, Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection last
year and expects to complete its restructuring in the first
quarter, said the revised proposal did not address certain
material risks and issues it had previously identified.
Instead, the Florida-based airline offered a counterproposal
in which Spirit shareholders would get $600 million in debt and
$1.185 billion in equity -- which Frontier rejected.
The two companies had been in merger talks since at least
2022, even before Spirit filed for bankruptcy due to prolonged
periods of financial losses and a substantial debt load.
However, JetBlue Airways JBLU.O jumped into the fray and
prevailed. But that deal was scrapped after a U.S. judge blocked
it on anti-competition concerns.
Frontier revived its takeover efforts earlier this year, but
Spirit had said the first offer was inferior to the one the two
companies had discussed last year and sought an assurance that
the deal would close and Frontier would not walk away.
(Reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi in Bengaluru; Editing by
Savio D'Souza)
((HarshitaMeenaktshi.R@thomsonreuters.com;))