Just four days after Carl Icahn disclosed a 9.9% stake in JetBlue Airways Corp. and signaled his intention to have a say in the company’s future, the activist investor is said to be nearing a deal for board seats at the low-cost airline.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Icahn and JetBlue are in the late stages of a settlement agreement that would avert a proxy fight. The agreement could be announced in the coming days, the publication said, citing people familiar with the matter.
JetBlue
JBLU,
and Icahn Enterprises
IEP,
Icahn’s investment arm, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Ohio-based utility American Electric Power Co. Inc.
AEP,
earlier this week announced a deal with Icahn to give the activist investor two board seats at the company.
Icahn disclosed his stake on JetBlue late Monday, saying that the airline’s stock was “undervalued and represented an attractive investment opportunity.”
The type of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Schedule 13D, reflected some intent to influence the direction of the company, rather than the more commonly seen document, Schedule 13G.
Funds owned by billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros disclosed new stakes in JetBlue and other low-cost U.S. airlines earlier this week, a bet on continued demand for leisure air travel.
JetBlue is appealing a court ruling blocking its merger with ultra-low-cost Spirit Airlines Inc.
SAVE,
that cited competition concerns.
Also under appeal is an earlier court decision to block JetBlue and American Airlines Group Inc.’s
AAL,
Northeastern Alliance, also on grounds that it would stifle competition.
Fueled by the recent investments, JetBlue’s stock has soared 17% this week, compared with 1.5% gains for the U.S. Global Jets ETF
JETS
and contrasting with a weekly loss of 0.4% for the S&P 500 index
SPX.
In the past 12 months, however, JetBlue shares are off 19%, versus gains of about 22% for the S&P and roughly 0.2% for the ETF.
This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
