LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!! Frontier Plans To Buy Spirit Airlines In A $6.6 Billion Deal That Would Create The Fifth-Largest U.S Airline Along With What I Believe Is The World's Largest Flying Fight Club
CNBC- Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines, the two largest low-cost carriers in the U.S., have agreed to merge in a deal valued at $6.6 billion, creating what would become the fifth-largest airline in the country.
The merger gives Denver-based Frontier Airlines a 51.5% controlling stake in the combined airline. Spirit investors will receive 1.9126 shares of Frontier plus $2.13 in cash for each share they own, giving Spirit shareholders an implied value of $25.83 per share, which is a 19% premium over the value of Spirit shares at the end of last week, the companies said.
“This transaction is centered around creating an aggressive ultra-low fare competitor to serve our guests even better, expand career opportunities for our team members and increase competitive pressure, resulting in more consumer-friendly fares for the flying public,” Ted Christie, president and CEO of Miramar, Fla.-based Spirit, said in a statement announcing the deal.
Alright, that's a whole lot of financial mumbo jumbo that is important to the Larges of the world looking to figure out how it impacts the bottom lines of these companies as well as the stock market, which is definitely important for some. However for someone like myself that blogs airline brawls for a living, this is how I saw that announcement play out in my head.
Back in the day whenever an especially crazy fight in the friendly skies went viral, I had to look up to see if it was Frontier or Spirit, with the occasional Southwest challenger answering the call. But as the world, along with the people living in it, has gotten crazier over the last couple of years, melees have been breaking out on every airline under the sun.
However, Frontier and Spirit merging will re-establish the identities of these two titans of the fight and flight game for good. Not only that but like with the WWF/WCW merger, we now have a chance to see dream fights we never thought possible since these two airlines now operating together, which means their customer bases will also be under one proverbial roof.
As a wise man once said, BUSINESS IS ABOUT TO PICK UP!!!