AIG looks to sell 15 units

AIG, the stricken US insurer, is considering selling more than 15 businesses, including its aircraft leasing unit, a stake in a large US reinsurer and billions of dollars in properties in an effort to repay a $85bn government loan and secure its future as an independent company.

The board of AIG, which was de facto nationalised this month when the US administration stepped in with an emergency loan, was meeting in New York on Sunday night to discuss a radical plan for asset disposals aimed at helping the company emerge from its crisis. 

People close to the situation said AIG , led by its new chief executive Edward Liddy, wanted crucial businesses such as its international life insurance unit and its US pension businesses to be at the core of the “new AIG”.

But apart from those, AIG was prepared to consider selling most other operations. The company and its advisers, led by Blacstone and JPMorgan Chase, are believed to have drawn up a list of about 15-20 large businesses that could be sold.

AIG has to move fast because it has a short window to repay the emergency government aid and prevent Washington from taking control of the company.

The government extended the loan, which gives it the right to buy a majority stake in the company, after AIG collapsed under the weight of billions of dollars in credit-related losses.

People close to the situation warned that no final decisions on the asset sales had been made and stressed that AIG wanted to retain a large degree of flexibility on asset sales because of the difficult market conditions.

Among the units that are most likely to be sold are International Lease Finance Corp – one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing businesses – which is expected to fetch about $10bn. AIG is believed to have received expressions of interest from Asian and Middle Eastern buyers.