JetBlue Lifts Offer for Spirit Airlines, Commits to Selling Assets

Spirit is weighing whether to go ahead with a deliberate acquisition by

Frontier Group Holdings Inc.

or to settle for

JetBlue’s

provide. The funds airline was supposed to maintain a shareholder vote on the

Frontier

deal earlier this month, however postponed it to negotiate with each its suitors.

JetBlue’s transfer is the most recent improvement in what has develop into a public negotiation. JetBlue and Frontier each contemplate Spirit to be vital to their capability to develop and go up towards the larger airways that dominate the business. Either deal would create the fifth-largest U.S. airline.

JetBlue started its collection of provides for Spirit with one price a $33 per share when it swooped in about two months after Spirit and Frontier introduced their plans to merge in February. It then launched a young provide for Spirit’s shares at $30 per share after Spirit rejected JetBlue’s preliminary gambit.

Spirit final week stated it could give each JetBlue and Frontier entry to the identical due diligence data. Its board stated it expects to full discussions with each carriers forward of the shareholder assembly scheduled for June 30.

“The dialogue and information provided strengthened our conviction,” JetBlue Chief Executive Robin Hayes wrote to Spirit’s board Monday. Mr. Hayes stated he nonetheless needs to attain a “friendly, negotiated agreement,” however would proceed its marketing campaign to persuade shareholders to vote towards the Frontier deal if Spirit doesn’t agree that JetBlue has put ahead the superior provide.

JetBlue had beforehand stated it could be prepared to divest belongings to persuade regulators to log off on the deal. It stated Monday that its newest provide “significantly increases” the divestitures it could be prepared to commit to so as to acquire regulatory approval.

Spirit and Frontier didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com