New Vista Acquisition Corp is to become a private equity investor in low-cost, regional charter operator Verijet after cancelling its plans for a SPAC merger.

Less than two weeks after announcing a letter of intent (LoI) for a business combination with  Verijet, New Vista has announced plans to liquidate its SPAC. The investment group, headed by former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg, delayed a vote, originally scheduled for February 10th, until yesterday. But the group then issued a statement  to say the plans had been cancelled.

The cancelled vote would have extended the SPAC for 12 months, allowing it to merge with Verijet turning the operator into a publicly-traded company. New Vista said it had instructed the SPAC’s trustee to liquidate the securities held in the trust account. Following the redemption, the SPAC will liquidate and dissolve.

A statement from New Vista stated that the company  determined that liquidating New Vista Acquisition Corp. and returning the investor capital plus interest was in the best interest of shareholders.

“The management team and advisory group worked hard for two years meeting with hundreds of companies as we searched for an acquisition target that we could recommend, support and was ready and prepared to be a public entity.  Partly due to rapid change in capital market conditions, namely the rapid increase in rates, revaluation of growth companies, and the persistently challenging go-public environment, the team decided that it was in the best interests of our shareholders to return their capital. New Vista had a high level of support from shareholders in favour of an extension. This was about making a disciplined business decision in the best interest of our shareholders,” the statement read. 

Back in October last year, Bloomberg reported New Vista was seeking a deal with Canadian operator, Flair Airlines. The deal with Cirrus Vision Jet operator, Verijet came as the SPAC faced a deadline asking shareholders to give it an extra year to consummate the merger, according to Doug Gollan, founder, Private Jet Card Comparisons.

SPACs are not new to the industry, Wheels Up and Blade had previously gone public using mergers with special-purpose companies. Whilst, both Flexjet and FlyExclusive are planning mergers this year.

Meanwhile, our latest edition of Corporate Jet Investor Quarterly features an exclusive interview with Verijet CEO, Richard Kane. Register for your free copy of the journal here and look out for the digital edition to be published imminently.