Animal Tails Live To Fly Another Day Under New Majority Shareholder

A struggling airline has won something of a reprieve. Frontier Airlines announced Monday it has received a $75 million commitment in post-petition debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from Perseus LLC. Perseus also agreed to serve as equity sponsor for Frontier's plan of reorganization, allowing Perseus to purchase 79.9% of the equity in the reorganized company for $100 million.

"Today's announcement is a major boost to Frontier and builds momentum toward its emergence from bankruptcy as a viable enterprise. The $75 million commitment in DIP financing from Perseus is a significant vote of confidence in the employees of Frontier, our product and business plan," said Sean Menke, Frontier President and Chief Executive Officer. "Despite the current challenges facing the airline industry, these transactions help point the way towards Frontier's emergence from bankruptcy as a competitive, sustainable airline."

"We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to invest in the future of Frontier," said Brian Leitch, Senior Managing Director of Perseus. "We believe that Frontier has the highest-quality affordable coach product in the domestic airline industry. We are impressed by Frontier's excellent employees and friendly customer service, as well as the numerous product characteristics that distinguish Frontier from its competitors. Industry data supports our conclusion that when given a choice, the majority of coach travelers prefer Frontier over the competitive options. The airline industry is in a state of transition and some degree of turmoil. Although Frontier has been buffeted by recent fuel price increases and certain other issues, we believe that Frontier has proven that it deserves a chance to succeed in this challenging market, and we are proud to help it do so."

Frontier filed a motion on Friday with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Upon court approval, Perseus will provide funding under the proposed DIP credit facility in two installments to support the company's working capital needs. The proposed DIP funding, coupled with Frontier's negotiations with partners to improve liquidity, reduce expenses, and preserve cash, is expected to provide sufficient working capital for the Company's operations. The Company continues to work with its partners and employees to obtain additional liquidity, reduce expenses and enhance revenues.

"We are grateful that many of our key vendors and business partners, as well as all of our employees, have stepped up and made financial sacrifices to help provide Frontier with a lot of staying power," Menke said. "Through a variety of transactions and business initiatives, we have improved our liquidity over a very short period of time. All of this support reaffirms the fundamental business changes we have been making since the beginning of the year. We continue to adjust capacity and realign our route network to leverage our brand strengths and market awareness during a period of severe industry turmoil."

As ANN reported, Frontier and its subsidiaries filed for reorganization on April 10.

FMI: www.frontierairlines.com