Shares of Spirit Airlines was down 58% after the budget airline said that it won’t announce quarterly financial results on time while it continues talks with bond holders to restructure its debt.
Spirit said negotiations are progressing toward an agreement that would protect creditors and customers. However, the company said if such a deal is reached, it would be expected to wipe out existing shares.
The low-cost airline has been struggling to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel. A federal judge blocked an attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue after the Justice Department sued on antitrust grounds.
Spirit disclosed after the market closed Tuesday that it had notified the Securities and Exchange Commission it would be late in filing its third-quarter financial report while it continued discussions with holders of debt that is due for repayment in 2025 and 2026.
If it can reach a deal, Spirit said, it would go through “a statutory restructuring” that would protect creditors, employees, customers and companies that do business with the airline but “is expected to lead to the cancellation of the company’s existing equity.”
The Florida-based airline said it was also “exploring strategic alternatives” — often a euphemism for a sale, merger or restructuring.
The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported late Tuesday that the airline was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders after merger talks with Frontier Airlines broke down.
