Spirit’s stock soared more than 28% following the news.
JetBlue on Tuesday made a nearly $3.6 billion “unsolicited offer” to purchase all outstanding shares of Spirit Airlines, Spirit announced in a news release, sending the company’s stock soaring but leaving the budget airline’s future unclear. The February merger announcement was billed as a shakeup to the U.S. airline industry, by creating a company that would challenge the dominance of the “Big Four” airlines: American, Delta, United and Southwest.
