[stevehawk]

The problem is that Spirit is but going to survive 2024. Between their debt situation and a number of their A320 Neos about to be grounded thanks to a Pratt and Whitney eff-up, they won't be around long enough to keep anything competitive.

[babyshake]

If this is the case, then an acquisition to prevent a competitor from going bankrupt should generally not be anti-competitive? Since, they would no longer be your competition anyways?

[mathgeek]

It could be seen as pro consumer, but it also could be seen as anti competitive. Spirit going under would open up space for a new competitor to potentially move in.

An analogy would be two competing gas stations at a very busy intersection with no plots nearby to build more stations. Just by existing they either drive each other down on price or collude on it. One going under means a new station could exist, but one buying the other guarantees prices do not go down.

[kelnos]

If that's the case, why does JetBlue want to acquire them now? Why not wait until they file for bankruptcy protection, and likely get a much better deal?

[ceejayoz]

They'll have to compete with others on all the individual bits that way. No one else wants all of Spirit, but given the opportunity to pick and choose, some aircraft and landing slots are likely to be competed for.

[cjrp]

And their share price has just tanked ~50%. Maybe that was the plan all along...

[vlovich123]

I’m honestly surprised at how small the breakup fee was compared with Adobe/Figma. I guess the difference of negotiating from a position of strength vs weakness.