From NBC Universal:

Spirit Airlines and JetBlue have announced that they will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that blocked their planned $3.8 billion merger, which would have created the country’s fifth-largest airline. This appeal comes after the judge cited reduced competition as the reason for blocking the combination. JetBlue’s shares rose about 1% on Monday following the news.

This appeal comes after a U.S. District Court Judge William Young blocked the planned merger, stating that “the elimination of Spirit would harm cost-conscious travelers who rely on Spirit’s low fares.” As a result, Spirit shares fell more than 45% following the ruling, although they have since rebounded slightly after raising their financial forecast for the fourth quarter of 2023.

JetBlue General Counsel Brandon Nelson noted that “Our merger agreement with Spirit remains in effect and we still have obligations under the agreement. … This is a standard procedure, required under the merger agreement.” The merger was initially announced in 2022, but has faced challenges due to antitrust concerns.



Read more: Spirit Airlines stock rebounds after appeal of JetBlue merger block