See what’s clicking on Foxbusiness.com.
Spirit Airlines will begin talks with JetBlue Airways Corp over its $3.6 billion bid, the low-cost airline said late Thursday, as it could likely result in a “more superior bid” than Frontier Group Holdings’.
JetBlue made an unsolicited offer of $33 per share in cash earlier this week, beating an offer of nearly $25 per share in cash and shares from Frontier made in February.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“We look forward to working with the Spirit Board to complete our merger and create a national low fare challenger for the big four dominant US airlines that will result in lower fares and better service for customers,” said Robin Hayes , Chief Executive of JetBlue.
Spirit Airlines (Emma Wareus)
Frontier did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Spirit said discussions with JetBlue are consistent with the terms of the merger agreement with Frontier.
Denver-based Frontier and JetBlue are in a tug-of-war over Florida-based Spirit to capture a larger share of the leisure market and better compete with legacy airlines.
JETBLUE OFFERS TO PURCHASE SPIRIT AIRLINES FOR APPROX. $3.6 BILLION AT
The consolidation efforts come at a time when the pandemic-stricken airline industry is working with higher fuel and labor costs to sustain traveler demand.
A Jetblue Airways Airbus A320 taking off from Fort Lauderdale Airport. (Source: iStock / iStock)
Both deals will certainly require close scrutiny from US antitrust authorities, which under the Biden administration have taken an aggressive stance on deals that reduce competition and raise prices.
| ticker | security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JBLU | JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP. | 08/12 | -0.37 | -2.97% |
| SAVE | SPIRIT AIRLINES INC. | 26.51 | +0.23 | +0.88% |
| ULCC | PARTICIPATIONS OF THE BORDER GROUP | 10.70 | +0.09 | +0.85% |
JetBlue is already facing an antitrust lawsuit over its partnership with American Airlines Group Inc. The lawsuit, filed in September, alleges the transaction would result in higher fares at busy Northeast US airports.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
Spirit’s shares are down 1.5% since JetBlue made its bid on April 5, while JetBlue’s is down 11.4%.
(Reporting by Nilanjana Basu and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)