JetBlue goes hostile in Spirit bid, bigger budget airline

JetBlue is going hostile in its bid for Spirit Airlines and asking Spirit shareholders to reject a proposed $2.9 billion acquisition by Frontier Airlines

JetBlue is going hostile in its bid for Spirit Airlines and asking Spirit shareholders to reject a proposed $2.9 billion acquisition by Frontier Airlines.

JetBlue is going straight to shareholders of the Florida airline in hopes of pushing its board to the negotiating table. Shares of spirit jumped 17% before the opening bell Monday.

Spirit has rejected JetBlue's $3.6 billion offer for the Florida budget carrier twice already, saying antitrust regulators are unlikely to approve an offer from the New York City airline because of its alliance with American Airlines in the Northeast. The Justice Department is suing to block that deal.

Shareholders of Spirit are scheduled to vote June 10 on the Frontier bid favored by the Spirit board.