Airlines
Biden administration moving toward blocking JetBlue-Spirit merger
According to Politico on Friday, which cited five people with knowledge of the situation, the Justice Department is expected to file a suit to block the proposed $3.8 billion merger of JetBlue Airways Corp and Spirit Airlines Inc.
According to the article, the DoJ may file a lawsuit as early as March. It also stated that different individuals in the department’s anti-trust section had differing views over whether to initiate a case or not.
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In a statement sent through email, JetBlue stated, “We continue to work through the regulatory process to explain how this merger will promote competition in the airline market.” In Friday’s extended trading, shares of JetBlue and Spirit were unchanged. As the DoJ continued its anti-trust investigation earlier this week, JetBlue representatives responded to inquiries and provided depositions.
This week, Spirit Airlines Inc. stated that it anticipates U.S. antitrust authorities would decide within the “next 30 days or so” whether to approve the low-cost carrier’s $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue Airways Corp. Spirit CEO Edward Christie stated on an investor call that the company was “now waiting to see whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit to halt the deal or enables us to proceed.”
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JetBlue has proposed to sell Spirit’s assets in New York, Boston, and some Florida locations in order to satisfy the DOJ and the Transportation Department, which is providing advising input on the merger clearance process. However, DOJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter has criticized utilizing settlements to address competition issues in mergers, preferring to litigate to stop problematic deals entirely.
