Spirit Airlines Rejects JetBlue Counter Offer Against Merger with Frontier

Consolidation among discount airlines has sparked a battle over Spirit Airlines as JetBlue tries to disrupt deal with Frontier.

Jonathan Welsh

Monday, May 02, 2022 at 05:53 PM ET

Verified

On Feb. 7, Spirit entered into a merger agreement with Frontier, under which Spirit and Frontier would combine in a deal for stock and cash. [File photo: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Spirit Airlines has rejected JetBlue Airways' counter offer for acquisition, stating the proposed transaction carries an "unacceptable level of closing risk."
Spirit's board cited concerns, including potential antitrust hurdles despite JetBlue's offer of a reverse breakup fee.
The airline's board reaffirmed its belief that the pending merger with Frontier Airlines represents the best opportunity to maximize value for its shareholders and will continue to pursue that agreement.

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Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) has rejected a counter offer that JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) made last month to its planned merger with Frontier Airlines (NASDAQ: ULCC) because it believes “the proposed transaction is not reasonably capable of being consummated.”

Spirit said its board “continues to believe that the pending transaction with Frontier represents the best opportunity to maximize value and recommends that Spirit shareholders adopt the merger agreement with Frontier.”