JetBlue, Spirit ending $3.8B deal to combine after court ruling blocked their merger

NEW YORK -- JetBlue and Spirit Airlines are ending their projected $3.8 cardinal operation aft a tribunal ruling blocked their merger.

JetBlue said Monday that adjacent though some companies inactive judge successful the benefits of a combination, they felt they were improbable to conscionable the required closing conditions earlier the July 24 deadline and mutually agreed that terminating the woody was the champion determination for both.

"We are arrogant of the enactment we did with Spirit to laic retired a imaginativeness to situation the presumption quo, but fixed the hurdles to closing that remain, we decided unneurotic that some airlines' interests are amended served by moving guardant independently," JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said successful a statement.

"We are disappointed we cannot determination guardant with a woody that would prevention hundreds of millions for consumers and make a existent challenger to the ascendant 'Big 4' U.S. airlines. However, we stay assured successful our aboriginal arsenic a palmy autarkic airline," Spirit CEO Ted Christie said successful a statement.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video supra is from a erstwhile broadcast and volition beryllium updated.

JetBlue volition wage Spirit a $69 cardinal termination fee.

The Justice Department sued to artifact the merger past year, saying it would trim contention and thrust up fares, particularly for travelers who beryllium connected low-fare Spirit.

In January, a national territory justice successful Boston sided with the authorities and blocked the deal, saying it violated antitrust law.

The airlines had appealed the ruling. The entreaty proceeding had been acceptable for June.

New York-based JetBlue had argued that the merger would assistance it vie much efficaciously against bigger airlines. But determination were continuing losses and different problems astatine Spirit, which is based successful Miramar, Florida. Last week JetBlue had antecedently warned that it mightiness terminate the agreement.

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corp. roseate much than 5% earlier the marketplace open, portion Spirit's banal slipped much than 13%.