Sun Country Airlines and Petters Group Worldwide™ today announced that Petters Group and Whitebox Advisors, a twin cities investment firm, have completed the acquisition of Sun Country Airlines. The transaction closed today after approval from the Department of Transportation was granted last week.
The acquisition will provide Sun Country with the capital to continue the growth momentum of expanding the airline’s offerings. Plans to expand the airline include continued development of a strong consumer product focused on service targeted at both leisure and business travelers.
”We think Sun Country is the best kept secret in the airline industry. Its management team and employees have great pride in their organization and we are looking forward to supporting them in their continued growth,” said Tom Petters, Chairman and CEO of Petters Group Worldwide.
“We are anticipating a very exciting future for Sun Country Airlines,” said Shaun Nugent, CEO of Sun Country. “Combining the resources and vision of the Petters Group and Whitebox organizations with the passion and commitment of our employees will ensure the best possible product offering for our passengers.”
”Sun Country has developed a strong culture within its organization which we see as a major support to its growth,” said Andy Redleaf of Whitebox Advisors.
About Petters Group Worldwide
Petters Group Worldwide is a recognized leader in creating, developing and investing in companies that manufacture, procure and market merchandising solutions for key growth markets. Petters Group is a privately held company with ownership or investments in over 60 companies around the world, actively managing 20.
About Sun Country Airlines
MN Airlines, LLC dba Sun Country Airlines is a low cost, low fare carrier based in St. Paul, MN, that flies to popular business and leisure destinations such as New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Las Vegas as well as seasonally to Mexico and the Caribbean. Sun Country Airlines ranked in the top 10 Domestic Airlines lists by both Travel+Leisure magazine and Conde Nast Traveler magazine in 2006.
About Whitebox Advisors
Whitebox Advisors is a Minneapolis-based family of hedge funds with approximately $1.8 billion under management. The firm was founded in 1999 by CEO Andrew Redleaf, a twin cities native and a graduate of St. Paul Academy and Yale University. Though each Whitebox fund pursues a unique strategy, all Whitebox funds invest primarily in publicly traded securities and blend quantitative and qualitative disciplines seeking to identify unusually strong opportunities with favorable risk/reward parameters. Our goal is to be unambiguously better than the crowd and focus on absolute returns for investors.
