To steer this thread back on topic, the Sunday Times out of the U.K. is explicitly reporting this morning that Branson is prepared to sell some shares and give up controlling interest in Virgin Atlantic...
U.K. billionaire Richard Branson is in talks to sell part of his 51 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. to Air France-KLM Group (AF), the Sunday Times reported, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the discussions.
A three-way transaction would also see Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. buying Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s 49 percent share in the U.K. carrier, the Times said. A deal may be concluded early next week, according to the newspaper.
By way of Bloomberg:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...-times-reports
And the Sunday Times article itself has an interesting summary, pre-paywall:
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/...cle1172853.ece
It's probably worth mentioning that Delta's investors day is Wednesday, which would be a good opportunity to roll this out.