JetBlue Sweetens Its Offer for Spirit Airlines

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JetBlue

further sweetened its offer for

Spirit Airlines

to $33.50 per share on Monday, representing the latest move in the battle to acquire the Florida-based discount airline. 

The offer—an increase from the $31.50 per share the company put forward earlier this month—also includes stronger regulatory commitments, a prepayment of $1.50 per share to shareholders if they vote to combine the two airlines, and a $350 million payment to Spirit if the deal fails to go through. 

The latest proposal from JetBlue (ticker: JBLU) comes just days before Spirit’s special stakeholder meeting on June 30, during which Spirit shareholders are due to vote on a merger with

Frontier

Group Holdings (ULCC). 

The Spirit board has already approved the Frontier cash and stock offer—which values Spirit (SAVE) shares at roughly $21—but has already once delayed its June 30 meeting to allow the board to continue discussions with stockholders, Frontier, and JetBlue.  

JetBlue’s latest offer represents what the company says is a 68% premium to the implied value of the Frontier deal.

Spirit said Monday it is continuing to engage in discussions with JetBlue and work with Frontier under the terms of the existing merger agreement between Spirit and Frontier. 

“Frontier and JetBlue have been given access to the same extensive due diligence information, on the same terms,” the company said. 

Spirit said at the time that it had expected to update shareholders ahead of the June 30 special meeting. 

Write to Megan Cassella at [email protected]