NEW YORK: Bailed-out insurer American International Group (AIG) said last week Thursday it closed the sale of its Taiwanese life insurance business and used the proceeds to repay the US government another US$2.15 billion. The money went toward paying down the government's preferred interest in the entity that controls AIG's one-third stake in Asian insurer AIA Group, which AIG spun off in an initial public offering last year. AIG's bailout at one point totaled US$182.3 billion. The government's investment now stands at US$51 billion- the 77 per cent of AIG's common stock held by the US Treasury, and the remaining US$9.3 billion in preferred interests in the AIA entity.
AIG said it closed the sale of Nan Shan to Ruen Chen Investment Holding for US$2.16 billion cash. The Nan Shan sale was prolonged by the Taiwanese government's rejection of AIG's first-choice buyer. With Nan Shan closed, AIG's last major disposal will be International Lease Finance Corporation or ILFC, which buys airplanes and leases them to airlines. The company is looking at an IPO for ILFC later this year. The proceeds of the ILFC sale may be used to pay off the remaining Treasury interest in the AIA vehicle, which would let AIG keep that one-third interest in the company instead of selling it. The AIA stake was responsible for most of AIG's net profit in the second quarter.
(Reuters)
