JetBlue and Spirit Airlines terminate merger agreement

US low cost airline carriers JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines were set to merge last month, until a US judge blocked the deal on anti competition concerns. Now the deal is dead, with JetBlue and Spirit parting ways for good.

Both airlines announced on Monday the 4th March that they have terminated their merger agreement, just weeks after the judge ruled against it. The deal was worth $3.8bn. JetBlue and Spirit have cited legal reasons for the termination, saying they would struggle to overcome the ruling and the regulatory hurdles. This deal has been in the works for nearly two years, when JetBlue had actually fought to win Spirit from a rival suitor. When Spirit resisted, opting to stick with Frontier Airlines, Jetblue launched a hostile bidding war that drove the deal higher.

The US DoJ sued to block the deal last year and following the trial, the judge sided with the antitrust enforcers. Both airlines initially moved forward to challenge the decision with JetBlue airing on the side of caution, saying that they didn’t believe they could close the deal by their deadline.

Following the announcement on Monday that they were terminating the deal, JetBlue shares closed 4.3% higher on Monday whilst Spirit shares fell dramatically, closing an 11% lower. JetBlue agreed to pay Spirit $69m, according to a securities filing, to cover costs such as attorneys fees.

It was noted that smaller airlines feel they need to join forces in order to rival the larger players in the market, which sparked this deal in the first place. The four biggest airlines in the USA remains to be United, American, Delta and Southwest.

What are your thoughts? Do you think it would have beneficial for consumers, for JetBlue & Spirit to merge, or do you side with the DoJ? Let us know in the comments below.