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Bloomberg
Flybe Group Plc said American Airlines-backed Mesa Air Group Inc. has launched a counter-bid for its business, leading the stock to more than double in price.
The approach from Phoenix, Arizona-based Mesa and New York private-equity firm Bateleur Capital LLC is “preliminary and highly conditional,†Exeter, England-based short-haul carrier Flybe said in a statement on Wednesday, without revealing how much the potential offer might be worth.
Flybe shares surged 131 percent before trading 122 percent higher at 2.89 pence as of 8:35 am in London. A January bid from the Connect Airways consortium of Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., Stobart Group Ltd. and Cyrus Capital is worth 1 penny a share, or 2.2 million pounds, though includes a 20 million-pound bridge loan and a commitment to 80 million pounds of further funding.
The proposal from Mesa and Bateleur, which is backed by ex-Stobart chief Andrew Tinkler, would involve a capital injection and replacement of financing that Connect had planned to provide, and is contingent on that deal not going ahead, according to the statement.