Sir Richard Branson could make nearly £500m from sale of Virgin America
Sir Richard Branson could make $700m (£490m) from the sale of Virgin America.
Alaska Airlines is understood to have made a bid valuing the company at more than $2bn.
The airline was believed to have been in competition with JetBlue Airways for the company.
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The Sunday Times first reported that if the Alaska Airlines bid is accepted Branson, whose Virgin Group Holdings owns around 30 per cent of Virgin America's stock, would make nearly $700m.
Cyrus Capital Partners has a 28 per cent stake in Virgin America, meaning it could take a payout of around $600m.
Virgin America's share price has increased from less than $30 in mid-March to $38.90 on 1 April.
The potential sale comes after the airline sold stock in a $353m initial public offering, pricing its shares at $23 each, in 2014.
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The California-based airline was launched in 2007.
In 2015 the company reported total operating revenue of $1.53bn, a 2.7 per cent rise on 2014.
Virgin, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue have been asked for comment.