Virgin America is apparently up for sale, almost a decade after launching into American skies.
The sale was revealed last week by Bloomberg and apparently the carrier already has two prospective buyers.
Reports suggests that both JetBlue Airways and Alaska Air Group are keen to takeover the airline after putting forth takeover offers.
Discussions have remained private and it’s unclear if other companies have also placed bids, however, a deal is expected to be announced sometime this week if Virgin America doesn’t decide to abandon negotiations in favour of remaining independent.
A US-based analyst, Helane Becker, told the Financial Review that JetBlue would make more sense “from an aircraft, network and product offering perspective”.
She explained that it would give the carrier a larger presence on the US West Coast and eliminate competition for business travellers on cross-country routes.
Meanwhile, a buyout from Alaska would apparently reduce any West Coast rivals and would allow the carrier to expand its network into Mexico.
Currently, Virgin America is 54 percent owned by Branson’s VX Holdings, and Cyrus Capital Partners. Last year, the carrier made US$201.5 million – a record for the company.