Spirit Airlines is delaying a shareholder vote set for Friday on its deal to merge with Frontier Airlines.
This is the third time Spirit has postponed the vote initially scheduled for June 10, then rescheduled to June 28 and then for July 8, a day before the vote.
The decision is a win for competing suitor JetBlue Airways, which is also bidding to buy Spirit.
Spirit said it would now hold the vote on a special meeting on July 15 so it could continue talks with both airlines.
“We are encouraged by our discussions with Spirit and are hopeful they now recognize that Spirit shareholders have indicated their clear, overwhelming preference for an agreement with JetBlue,” JetBlue’s CEO Robin Hayes said after the latest delay.
After JetBlue Airways offered a $3.6 billion offer to buy Spirit, the $2.9 billion proposal made by Frontier two months earlier is still being evaluated.
Over the past months, JetBlue and Frontier have repeatedly improved their bids for Spirit. If the deal is completed the fifth largest U.S. airline will be created.
The Frontier deal is also expected to face antitrust scrutiny.
