Spirit Airlines has ended its proposed merger with Frontier Airlines, clearing a path for JetBlue Airways to take over the South Florida-based discount carrier.
The move by Spirit and Frontier to abandon the deal was announced Wednesday as Spirit stockholders voted on the proposal. Despite Spirit’s continued support of the deal, which was first offered in early February, shareholders were on a path to turn it down.
“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,” Ted Christie, president and CEO of Spirit, said in a statement. “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.”
