Airlines
Spirit Rejects JetBlue Acquisition Overtures
Spirit Airlines chooses Frontier Airlines merger proposal over that of JetBlue, citing concerns over antitrust risk.
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A321 takes off from Houston Intercontinental Airport in April 2017. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY) by Colin Brown Photography)
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A321 takes off from Houston Intercontinental Airport in April 2017. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY) by Colin Brown Photography)

Spirit Airlines has rejected JetBlue’s acquisition offer, Spirit said Monday, adding that the proposed transaction represents “an unacceptable level of closing risk” to its stockholders. The ultra-low-cost carrier asserted that the takeover offer does not constitute a superior proposal to the one issued by Frontier Airlines ahead of the Spirit-Frontier February 7 merger agreement. On April 29 JetBlue revised its offer to increase its monetary value and a promise to divest Sprit assets that might present a conflict of interest with JetBlue’s Northeast Alliance agreement with American Airlines, but Spirit again rejected that proposal.