Spirit sells over two dozen aircraft in a near $500M saleleaseback transaction
By Cortney Moore – Reporter, South Florida Business Journal Jan 4, 2024

Spirit Airlines, Inc. marked the start of the new year with a major transaction.
On Jan. 3, the Miramar-based company (NYSE: SAVE) sold and leased back 25 aircraft and
used the funds to repay about $465 million in debt related to those planes, according to a
filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Net cash proceeds amounted
to about $419 million.


The SEC filing was signed by Thomas Canfield, Senior Vice President and General
Counsel at Spirit Airlines.

Spirit’s sale-leaseback comes nearly six weeks after the airline revealed it suffered a
multimillion-dollar loss and revenue decline in the third quarter of 2023. The budget
airline reported a net loss of $157.6 million in Q3 and $100 million decrease in quarterly
revenue to $1.3 billion.

The South Florida-based airline is awaiting a merger trial ruling that’ll determine if the
ultra low-cost carrier can be purchased by JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU).
JetBlue, a New York-based discount airline, proposed a $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit
in 202. But the merger has been put on hold due to a civil antitrust lawsuit filed by the
U.S. Justice Department, the Attorneys General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
the State of New York and the District of Columbia.

JetBlue is a low-cost airline based in Long Island City, New York.

The federal and state agencies sued to block the proposed merger in March 2023 with
claims that allege the acquisition would eliminate competition and raise costs for
consumers. The lawsuit went to trial from October to December.

U.S. District Judge William Young, who will determine the merger’s future, said the deal
might be able to go through if JetBlue divests additional assets, according to Reuters. A
final ruling has yet to be issued.

As of 12 p.m., Spirit’s stock traded at $15.79 — a 1.1% decrease from the previous day's
closing price.