Marriott, Twitter, Peloton: promotions that defined the week

Spirit prefers to ride with Frontier than JetBlue.

The carrier rejected an offer to purchase from JetBlue Airways Corp. in favor of the existing merger plan with the competing budget airline Frontier Group Holdings Inc.

JetBlue’s offer for Spirit came with a higher price than Frontier’s cash and stock offer, which was originally valued at $ 2.9 billion. But the Spirit Board said it believes there is too much risk that regulators will ban the merger with JetBlue. However, on Monday JetBlue said it was not refusing, and released details of its latest offer to attract Spirit shareholders. Shares of Spirit fell 9.4% on Monday.

Cheg gets a hard lesson. Inflation and higher wages have turned more students away from the education campaign, according to CEO Daniel Rosensweig, who said about a million people have either given up or postponed higher education for the past two years. Chegg, a company that sells learning materials and operates a learning platform for high school and college students, thrived during the pandemic when home schooling rose and cash income rose due to government incentive programs. The company reported quarterly revenue that did not live up to expectations and lowered its forecast for the year. Shares of Chegg fell 30% on Tuesday.

Starbucks wants to give more benefits to its baristas. On Tuesday, the chain of coffee shops said that profits and sales increased in the last quarter, and CEO Howard Schultz outlined the increase in wages and benefits that the company seeks to extend to its employees. The move comes amid escalating battles between the company and recently merged employees. Starbucks said it is investing approximately $ 200 million in stores and employees, including an app to improve workplace communication, increase hourly wages, repair cafe equipment and improve training. But Mr Schultz said a growing number of cafes united by unions would have to negotiate their own deals. Shares of Starbucks rose 9.8% on Wednesday.

The richest man in the world gets help from his friends. Elon Musk has assembled a group of investors, including Saudi Prince Oracle Corp.

co-founder Larry Allison and the bitcoin exchange to get more than $ 7 billion to support his $ 44 billion deal for Twitter. The biggest contribution was made by the Prince of Saudi Arabia al-Walid bin Talal, who agreed to retain a stake in the social networking platform worth $ 1.9 billion after the capture of Mr. Musk. Tesla Inc.

The CEO told potential Twitter investors that he could bring the company back to state markets after several years of ownership. Twitter shares rose 2.7% on Thursday.

Further price increases could reduce Kellogg’s sales. Manufacturer Frosted Flakes and Eggos on Thursday posted a 15 percent jump in first-quarter earnings, thanks to already introduced higher prices and steady sales growth for its snack brands. So far, U.S. buyers have largely withstood high food producer prices, but Kellogg and other industry giants say that may change later this year. The company expects further growth amid worsening pressure on spending due to supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine, and CEO Steve Cahillain said price sensitivity is now beginning to show on frozen foods and cereals. Kellogg shares added 3.5% on Thursday.

Peloton is preparing to sell a significant minority stake. The once-hot bike maker is looking for buyers to support its business as its shares continue to sink, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The fitness company is targeted at potential investors, including industry players and private investment companies, who can get a stake of 15% to 20%. In recent months, Peloton has also interested potential brides like Amazon.com Inc.

who have studied the full purchase of the company since the activist-investor urged it to consider selling. Peloton shares lost 7.7% on Friday.

Write Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com