Spirit Airlines, JetBlue merger mutually terminated

Spirit Airlines (SAVE) announced that its merger agreement with JetBlue (JBLU) has been terminated by mutual agreement. “After discussing our options with our advisors and JetBlue, we concluded that current regulatory obstacles will not permit us to close this transaction in a timely fashion under the merger agreement,” said Ted Christie, Spirit’s President and CEO. “We are disappointed we cannot move forward with a deal that would save hundreds of millions for consumers and create a real challenger to the dominant “Big 4″ U.S. airlines. However, we remain confident in our future as a successful independent airline. We wish the JetBlue team well.” Christie continued, “Throughout the transaction process, given the regulatory uncertainty, we have always considered the possibility of continuing to operate as a standalone business and have been evaluating and implementing several initiatives that will enable us to bolster profitability and elevate the Guest experience. As we go forward, I am certain our fantastic Spirit team will continue delivering affordable fares and great experiences to our Guests.” Spirit is confident in its strengths and is focused on returning to profitability. The company has been taking, and will continue to take, prudent steps to ensure the strength of its balance sheet and ongoing operations, including assessing options to refinance upcoming debt maturities. In that regard, Spirit has retained Perella Weinberg & Partners L.P. and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as advisors. As part of the termination, JetBlue will pay Spirit $69M. While the merger agreement was in effect, Spirit stockholders received approximately $425M in total prepayments.