Deals

JetBlue Gets Long-Sought Deal to Buy Spirit for $3.8 Billion

  • Deal follows collapse of planned Spirit merger with Frontier
  • Spirit shares rally on richer cash payment from JetBlue
Frontier Was Not Going to Overpay for Spirit, CEO Says
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JetBlue Airways Corp. is acquiring deep-discounter Spirit Airlines Inc. for at least $3.8 billion in cash, clinching a deal less than a day after Spirit called off a planned merger with Frontier Group Holdings Inc.

JetBlue will pay $33.50 per share for Spirit, or as much as $34.15 depending on timing, the airlines said in a joint statementBloomberg Terminal Thursday. That includes a $2.50-a-share prepayment once Spirit stockholders approve the deal agreed to by the airlines’ boards, they said.