A Frontier Airlines plane approaches a Spirit Airlines plane at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on May 16, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Joe Redl | Getty Images
Frontier Airlines‘ The parent company said Thursday it would pay a $250 million reverse breakup fee Spirit Airlines If regulators don’t approve the planned combination of the two discount carriers for reasons of antitrust, an attempt to persuade investors to accept the deal as a rival next week could JetBlue Airways Tries to buy the soul outright.
New York-based JetBlue offered $33 per share, or $3.6 billion in cash, for Spirit in April, up from the $2.9 billion cash-and-stock deal Spirit and Frontier announced in February.
Spirit’s board rejected JetBlue’s advances, and JetBlue made a tender offer of $30 a share last month and urged Spirit shareholders to vote against the deal.
Spirit said a deal with JetBlue would not be approved by regulators. JetBlue’s proposal includes a reverse breakup fee of $200 million if regulators do not approve the acquisition.
On Tuesday, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services advised Spirit shareholders to: Vote Against Frontier DealExpressing concern about the lack of reverse termination fees.
“The combination of higher reverse termination fees and a higher chance of closing in a Frontier merger provides significantly greater regulatory protection for Spirit stockholders than the transaction offered by JetBlue,” Spirit President Mac Gardner said in a news release.
Spirit’s shareholder meeting is scheduled for June 10.