Shares of airline Virgin America Inc. (VA) surged almost 10% in afternoon trade Monday, after a Bloomberg report that the company has received takeover bids from JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) and Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK). Virgin America, which is backed by billionaire Richard Branson, got the bids after putting itself up for sale, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Talks are ongoing and a deal could be announced as soon as early next week, the people said. Virgin shares have gained 4% in the year so far, outperforming the S&P 500, which is down 0.4%.
