SPIRIT BOARD URGES REJECTING JETBLUE:

Spirit Airlines’ board of directors urged shareholders Thursday to reject a direct appeal from JetBlue Airways to buy all outstanding Spirit stock, calling JetBlue’s moves a “cynical attempt to disrupt” a previously announced merger between Spirit and Frontier Airlines. Spirit said in a statement that its board had unanimously agreed that taking up JetBlue on its bid, a move known as a tender offer, was not in the best interest of the company or its shareholders. JetBlue issued the tender offer Monday after Spirit rejected a formal acquisition bid in favor of merging with Frontier.