The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that JetBlue has set a foothold to become one of the top five U.S. airlines when it agreed to acquire low-cost airline Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion.<\/p>\n
According to the report, JetBlue announced on the 28th of last month that it has agreed to acquire Spirit Airlines for $33.50 per share and will pay an additional $2.50 per share if Spirit shareholders approve the merger. JetBlue said it expects to complete the merger by the first quarter of 2024 and expects to receive regulatory approval by the fourth quarter of next year or the first quarter of 2024.<\/p>\n
JetBlue expects that the acquisition of Spirit Airlines will be a steppingstone to challenge the top four companies dominating the US aviation market. JetBlue, which currently operates 280 aircraft, will increase its fleet to 458 when the merger is completed. By adding up to 300 aircraft ordered here, it will be able to become a nationwide low-cost airline.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Spirit Airlines said the day before that it had decided not to merge with Frontier Airlines ahead of a shareholder vote on the merger with Frontier Airlines and said it would continue negotiations with JetBlue.<\/p>\n
Frontier Airlines agreed to a $2.9 billion merger with Spirit Airlines in February but failed to acquire Spirit Airline after being defeated by JetBlue, who later proposed a $3.7 billion merger plan.<\/p>\n
The WSJ noted that JetBlue pushed out a strong competitor and reached an agreement to acquire Spirit Airlines, but it is unlikely to be easy to obtain approval from the authorities. That’s because the Biden administration is pursuing a series of antitrust lawsuits against major corporate mergers because it could weaken competition and raise prices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"