JetBlue makes bid for Spirit Airlines, potentially sparking bidding war

JetBlue Airways has offered to buy Spirit Airlines for about $3.6 billion and break up a plan for Spirit to merge with rival budget carrier Frontier Airlines.

Spirit said Tuesday that its board will evaluate the JetBlue bid and decide what's best for its shareholders.

JetBlue offered $33 per share in cash, which would be about 40% higher than Frontier would pay for Spirit under terms of a deal announced in February. Frontier's offer in cash and stock was worth $2.9 billion when it was announced, but Frontier shares have fallen since then, reducing the value to Spirit shareholders.