Monday, April 4, 2016

On Heels Of Denver Debut, Virgin America Goes To Alaska Airlines

In a surprise move, which followed last month's launch of Virgin America into Denver International Airport, Virgin America has been acquired by Alaska Airlines. Alaska Air Group said it will pay approximately $4.0 billion for Virgin America, or $57.00 per share in cash for the high tech airline carrier. Virgin America's flights to Denver from Silicon Valley were just launched last month, with a big debut with Sir Richard Branson. Branson--who is a minority shareholder, with nonvoting rights in Virgin America--expressed his sadness with the merger, saying there was "nothing I could do to stop it". Virgin America--and Sir Richard Branson's other companies--have been very popular with the tech crowd, for its tech-friendly attitude and adoption of technology, plus its focus on technology centers like Silicon Valley.