(Reuters) -Spirit Airlines Inc has delayed a shareholder meeting to vote on its proposed buyout by Frontier Group Holdings Inc to June 30, after JetBlue Airways Corp sweetened a rival offer for the budget carrier.
Spirit, which was originally set to vote on the Frontier deal on May 10, said on Wednesday it had not changed its recommendation favoring the Frontier deal.
The company earlier this week received an improved offer from JetBlue that included a higher reverse break-up fee which would be payable to Spirit investors if antitrust reasons stopped the deal.
“The Special Meeting was postponed to allow the Spirit Board of Directors to continue discussions with Spirit stockholders, Frontier and JetBlue Airways,” the low-cost airline said in a statement.
Spirit shares fell 1.2% before the bell, while JetBlue and Frontier traded slightly higher.
U.S. carriers have been trying to expand their domestic footprints while being dogged by persistent labor and aircraft shortages. Either of the two deals for Spirit will create the fifth-largest U.S. airline.
Last week, proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis recommended Spirit investors back the Frontier deal, while another proxy firm, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc, advised against it.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Aditya Soni)