Verijet SPAC-merger partner New Vista Acquisition to liquidate

Less than two weeks after announcing a non-binding letter of intent for a business combination with Verijet, New Vista Acquisition Corp. plans to liquidate its SPAC instead.

The group, headed by former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg, made a move after delaying a vote originally scheduled for Feb. 10.

That vote would have extended the SPAC for 12 months.

That timing would have allowed the SPAC to merge with Verijet turning the Cirrus Vision Jet operator into a publicly traded company.

New Vista initially pushed the vote back to today.

However, it then issued a press release that the meeting had been canceled.

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.

In October, Bloomberg reported that New Vista was seeking a deal with Canadian low-cost operator Flair Airlines.

The deal with Verijet came as New Vista’s SPAC faced a deadline asking shareholders to give it an extra year to consummate the merger.

However, Verijet’s relationship with New Vista will continue.

Verijet CEO Richard Kane tells Private Jet Card Comparisons New Vista will invest in his Miami, Florida-based VLJ operator via its private equity arm.

Plans remain for Muilenberg to join Verijet’s board.

Both Flexjet and FlyExclusive are planning SPAC mergers this year. Wheels Up and Blade had previously gone public using mergers with special-purpose companies.