Spirit Airlines Stock Plummets Over 50% After JetBlue Deal Blocked

Topline Spirit Airlines’ stock plunged as much as 60% on Tuesday following news that a federal judge blocked its $3.8 billion acquisition at the hands of JetBlue Airways, scoring a win for the Justice Department, which sued JetBlue last year to stop the acquisition on antitrust grounds. The merger was first announced in July 2022.

(Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Key Facts U.S. District Judge William G. Young said the proposed acquisition of Spirit would have eliminated the airline industry’s most popular discounted flight options and driven up industry prices, Bloomberg reported. JetBlue and Spirit can still appeal the decision ahead of the July expiration of their merger agreement.

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