JetBlue Airways is now bidding to merge with Spirit Airlines for $3.6 billion, not long after Frontier and Spirit announced a merger deal.
Earlier this year, Spirit and Frontier–both popular low-cost airlines–agreed to merge in a massive deal that the companies claimed would save consumers up to $1 billion. JetBlue’s $3.6 billion all-cash bid could potentially ruin the initial deal with Frontier. The bid is more than Frontier’s $2.9 billion deal.
The JetBlue offer news caused Spirit’s shares to surge more than 22% on Tuesday, but fell nearly 2% on Wednesday, with JetBlue dropping 9% and Frontier dropping 11%.
JetBlue’s plans include completely scraping Spirit’s brand, removing the bright yellow planes that have become synonymous with the Spirit name. If the two airliners did merge, it would be worth an estimated $7.3 billion–less than the Frontier merger with Spirit, which would be worth nearly $6.6 billion.
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Analysts have stated that it was hard to find “additional benefits” for JetBlue.
If the JetBlue plan is approved, then it would leave Frontier as the only low-cost airliner in the United States.
In a call with analysts on Wednesday, JetBlue executives said that the merger would present growth for the airliner in areas like Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta, and several Florida cities.
JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said in a press release that “the transaction would accelerate our strategic growth and create sustained, long-term value for the stakeholders in both companies.”
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The approval of either merger is still currently unknown.
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Zainah Yousef is a writer for The DZSH Group. She is also the author of “The Fallen Age Saga.” Her areas of focus are on psychology, politics, public security, and war. She is also a frequent contributor in articles on video games and entertainment news.
Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
