JetBlue Makes $3.6 Billion Counterbid for Spirit Airlines
Photo Credit: JetBlue made an unsolicited offer for Spirit, potentially derailing the proposed Spirit-Frontier merger. Flickr / vic_206
Skift Take
Does JetBlue's surprise bid for Spirit make sense for the carrier's network? At first glance, Wall Street didn't think so.
JetBlue Airways threw the airline world for a loop with a surprise bid for ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, that may derail Spirit's planned merger with Frontier Airlines.
JetBlue's $3.6 billion deal offers investors a $700 million premium over the $2.9 billion Frontier-Spirit merger. The New York Times first reported the JetBlue-Spirit news.
Spirit Airlines confirmed that it received an unsolicited offer from JetBlue. The New York-based carrier proposes to acquire "all of the outstanding shares of Spirit's common stock in an all-cash transaction for $33.00 per share," Spirit said in a statement.
JetBlue said its bid is a "superior proposal," compared with Frontier's and offers a 52 percent premium for investors. "While JetBlue and Spirit are different in many ways,
