Spirit Airlines chairman to exit as Indigo divests stake

The chairman of Spirit Airlines Inc plans to resign in August as funds affiliated with private equity firm Indigo Partners LLC divest their stake in the company, the carrier announced on Monday.

William A. Franke, chairman of the board of Spirit Airlines, plans to resign at the company's next board meeting, scheduled for August 7. John R. Wilson, a director, also plans to resign at that time.

Their resignation will come as investment funds affiliated with Indigo divest their stake of roughly 12.07 million shares of common stock in Spirit Airlines. Barclays is acting as the sole underwriter for the public offering of the common stock.

The board of Spirit Airlines plans to elect H. McIntyre Gardner, a director since 2010, as the new chairman of the board.

Representatives for Spirit Airlines and Indigo were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Sam Forgione; Editing by Chris Gallagher)