JetBlue wins Spirit takeover battle with $3.8 billion deal

NEW YORK & MIRAMAR, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– JetBlue Airways Corporation (“JetBlue”) (NASDAQ: JBLU) and Spirit Airlines, Inc. (“Spirit”) (NYSE: SAVE) today announced that their boards of directors have approved a definitive merger agreement under which JetBlue will acquire Spirit for $33.50 per share in cash, including a prepayment of $2.50 per share in cash payable upon Spirit stockholders’ approval of the transaction and a ticking fee of $0.10 per month starting in January 2023 through closing, for an aggregate fully diluted equity value of $3.8 billion and an adjusted enterprise value of $7.6 billion.

Increases JetBlue’s relevance and offers consumers more choices by leveraging the airlines’ complementary networks and fleets

• The airline will offer its combined 77 million customers more options and choices.
• JetBlue plans to bring the JetBlue Experience to all aircraft, offering JetBlue’s unique combination of low fares and award-winning service to more customers.
• The acquisition will accelerate JetBlue’s organic growth plan with 1,700+ daily flights to more than 125 destinations in 30 countries based on December 2022 schedules.
• The acquisition will increase relevance for JetBlue in certain key focus cities (Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, San Juan, and Los Angeles) as well as Big Four airline hubs (Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, and Miami).
• The combined airline will have a fleet of 458 aircraft on a pro forma basis and an order book of over 300 Airbus aircraft with fuel-efficient, lower-carbon new engine option, or neo, engines, providing increased flexibility and efficiency while mitigating the risk of limited availability of aircraft.

Brings together the best of both airlines’ cultures and values to create job growth and career opportunities for Crewmembers and Team Members

• The combined airline will provide more career growth options, broader travel benefits, more opportunities to make a difference in the communities JetBlue and Spirit serve, and a deeper bench of intellectual capital to support the future growth of the airline.
• The mission-driven, customer-centric airline of more than 34,000 crewmembers will further job growth, including planned insourcing of Spirit’s outsourced operations in cities where JetBlue has its own Crewmembers.
• JetBlue will expand its no furlough commitment to Spirit’s Team Members as they are welcomed into JetBlue after closing.
• JetBlue will ensure a smooth transition for Spirit’s corporate Team Members by retaining a Fort Lauderdale support center, in addition to JetBlue’s other support centers.
• JetBlue is committed to working with labor leaders at both airlines and JetBlue values committee representatives to ensure the combination supports the needs of those that operate the airline.