JetBlue sweetens offer for Spirit, boosts breakup fee, adds cash payment

JetBlue Airways Corp. improved its offer for Spirit Airlines Inc., boosting a breakup provision to $350 million and adding an upfront cash payment just days before shareholders will vote on a pending buyout agreement with Frontier Group Holdings Inc.

The revised offer increases JetBlue’s reverse breakup fee by $150 million and provides for about $164 million payable as a cash dividend “promptly following” a vote approving a combination of the carriers, the airline said in a statement Monday. The update comes after Frontier sweetened its own agreement by adding a key $250 million fee payable to Spirit if their accord breaks