JetBlue Launches Hostile Takeover for Spirit Airlines
JetBlue today announced that it has filed a “Vote No” proxy statement urging Spirit shareholders to vote AGAINST the inferior, high risk, and low value Spirit/Frontier transaction at Spirit’s upcoming special meeting.
The move comes after Spirit rejected JetBlue’s $33 per share, all-cash offer earlier this month. Spirit rejected the offer and decided to go ahead with a planned $2.9 billion-cash-and-stock deal to merge with Frontier Airlines.
JetBlue has now offered an all-cash, fully financed tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Spirit for $30 per share. “Given the Spirit Board of Directors’ complete unwillingness to share the same necessary diligence information that was shared with Frontier, JetBlue is now offering to acquire Spirit for $30 per share in cash through a fully financed tender offer,” the New York based airline said in a statement. “This represents a 60% premium to the value of the Frontier transaction as of May 13, 2022 – a very compelling offer and higher than the premium implied by JetBlue’s original proposal.”
“If the Spirit shareholders vote against the transaction with Frontier and compel the Spirit Board to negotiate with us in good faith, we will work towards a consensual transaction at $33 per share, subject to receiving the information to support it,” JetBlue said.
JetBlue launched a website at http://www.JetBlueOffersMore.com where it has published a letter to Spirit shareholders detailing the benefits of its transaction.
