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Bloomberg
JetBlue Airways Corp is acquiring deep-discounter Spirit Airlines Inc for at least $3.8 billion in cash, clinching a deal less than a day after Spirit called off a planned merger with Frontier Group Holdings Inc.
JetBlue will pay $33.50 per share for Spirit, or as much as $34.15 depending on timing, the airlines said in a joint statement. That includes a $2.50-a-share prepayment once Spirit stockholders approve the deal agreed to by the airlines’ boards, they said.
The agreement caps a more than three-month battle by JetBlue to derail the Spirit-Frontier deal and secure a chance to expand its own network, fleet and access to pilots. While Spirit’s board had stood by the rival Frontier proposal, that $2.6 billion stock-and-cash deal collapsed after the companies failed to garner enough shareholder support.
“We want to get this deal done,†JetBlue Chief Executive Officer Robin Hayes said, noting his company’s plans to divest some assets to help win approval from skeptical regulators. The carriers will operate independently until after receiving regulatory approval and the transaction closes, which the companies expect no later than the first half of 2024.
JetBlue is banking on the combination to give it sufficient scope to effectively influence pricing against the nation’s largest airlines, which control about 80% of the US market.