Buying Spirit would give JetBlue a chance to bulk up its presence in key airports, expand its roster of planes and pilots, and prevent its rival Frontier from doing the same.
JetBlue wants to buy Spirit Airlines—badly. Since April, the company has been locked in a battle with its smaller rival, Frontier Airlines, over its potential Spirit merger. On June 20, JetBlue raised its offer price to $3.6 billion, roughly two thirds higher than the current value of Frontier’s offer, which stands at about $2.2 billion.
At times, JetBlue’s offered price has nearly doubled Frontier’s, but Spirit’s board of directors has steadfastly refused JetBlue’s advances for fear of monopoly regulators blocking the deal. The US Justice Department is already suing JetBlue to block a proposed partnership with American Airlines, which prosecutors say would unfairly reduce competition.
Spirit’s board is now negotiating with both JetBlue and Frontier, and hopes to wrap up talks before the company’s June 30 shareholder meeting. In a letter accompanying JetBlue’s most recent offer, CEO Robin Hayes wrote that he hoped to “reach a friendly, negotiated agreement” with Spirit’s board.
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