Spirit Airlines Inc. rejected a refreshed acquisition offer from rival budget carrier Frontier Group Holdings Inc., saying it would instead proceed with a planned restructuring in bankruptcy.

Spirit Airlines is rebuffing the latest takeover offer from Frontier Group, with the discount airline saying that it prefers focusing on its current reorganization plan.

Spirit Airlines rejected Frontier Group's acquisition offer worth about $2.16 billion, marking the latest failed deal in the years since the companies began discussing a merger.

Spirit Airlines Tuesday rejected Frontier's most recent merger proposal, opting to proceed with its own standalone recapitalization without a merger instead. Spirit is currently in bankruptcy.

The stock of discount airline Frontier Group Holdings Inc. fell 3% early Wednesday after Spirit Airlines again rejected a takeover bid from the rival carrier and said it would go it alone as it emerges from bankruptcy.

JetBlue officially ended its merger process with Spirit early last year after the Department of Justice (DOJ) won the case against the merger in January 2024. This was also a big blow to Spirit, which has been dealing with financial troubles and was hoping for the merger to come through.

Spirit Airlines has rejected Frontier's latest merger offer, saying that it is less beneficial to shareholders compared to its restructuring plan.

Spirit Airlines rejected Frontier's revised $2.16 billion acquisition offer, which was similar to an earlier proposal but with fewer conditions; Spirit countered with a demand for $600 million in debt and $1.