A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved Spirit Airlines’ SAVEQ.PK debt restructuring, clearing the budget airline to convert $795 million in debt to equity and emerge from bankruptcy as a private company.

Spirit Airlines expects to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the coming weeks after its plan of reorganization was confirmed by a US bankruptcy court. The airline will exit bankruptcy in a take-private deal that gives its major bondholders control of the company.

Financially troubled Spirit Airlines says its reorganization plan has been approved by a federal bankruptcy court in New York, opening the way for its exit from Chapter 11 “in the coming

Spirit’s approval comes after the third merger attempt by Denver-based ULCC Frontier Airlines, part of a back-and-forth process between the two budget carriers that dates back to 2022 when Frontier made a run for Spirit but was usurped by JetBlue.

Spirit Airlines (SAVEQ) garnered retail attention on Thursday after a court approved its plan to exit bankruptcy by converting $795 million in debt to equity and emerge as a privately owned company. The company said it expects to emerge from restructuring in the coming weeks following the approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to hand over the airline to creditors.