JetBlue Gets Long-Sought Deal to Buy Spirit for $3.8 Billion (2)

JetBlue Airways Corp. is acquiring deep-discounter Spirit Airlines Inc. for at least $3.8 billion in cash, clinching a deal less than a day after Spirit called off a planned merger with Frontier Group Holdings Inc.

JetBlue will pay $33.50 per share for Spirit, or as much as $34.15 depending on timing, the airlines said in a joint statement Thursday. That includes a $2.50-a-share prepayment once Spirit stockholders approve the deal agreed to by the airlines’ boards, they said.

The agreement caps a more than three-month battle by JetBlue to derail the Spirit-Frontier deal and secure a chance to expand its ...