Ailing insurer AIG is poised to repay 36.7 billion dollars in government bailout aid after floating its Asian unit AIA and selling another subsidiary, US officials said Monday.
American International Group raised 20.5 billion dollars of cash in its initial public offering of pan-Asian insurer AIA Group last week, the Treasury Department said in an update on AIG’s taxpayer-funded rescue.
In the sale of unit American Life Insurance Company (ALICO) to MetLife, Inc., AIG raised about 16.2 billion dollars, including about 7.2 billion dollars in cash.
“This approximately 36.7 billion dollars in aggregate proceeds will be used to fully repay the loan extended to AIG by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) and a substantial amount of the FRBNY’s preferred interests in certain AIG subsidiaries,” the department said.
As part of AIG’s restructuring targeted by March 31, 2011, the insurer will draw up to 22 billion dollars in remaining Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds from the Treasury.
The money will be used to purchase the New York Fed’s preferred interests in the special-purpose vehicles holding AIA and ALICO, and subsequently
Treasury will receive those interests. The Treasury said it would own 92.1 percent of AIG after the restructuring, a holding that would be much more valuable than its current cash investment.
The stake of 1.66 billion shares of common stock, based on Friday’s closing share price, would be worth about 69.5 billion dollars, it said.
“This amount significantly exceeds Treasury’s current 47.5 billion dollar cash investment in AIG,” which is in addition to its investment in the preferred interests.
The US government expects to earn a profit on its loans to and investments in AIG after the restructuring, announced a month ago, is completed.
“The completion of the restructuring is subject to a number of conditions,” the Treasury said.
“Nevertheless, the AIA IPO and sale of ALICO reflect the substantial progress that AIG and the USG (US government) have made to date in restructuring the company.”
AIG, once the world’s largest insurer, received more than 180 billion dollars from US taxpayers two years ago to help cover investments that disappeared amid the collapse of a US real-estate bubble.
Washington, Nov 1, 2010 (AFP)
