If you ever wondered about the size of American International Group (AIG) then just consider this: the company has managed to remain one of the biggest insurance firms in the world despite divesting more assets than most companies will ever accumulate.
According to a
Bloomberg report, the firm has sold dozens of units since 2008 – first as it attempted to pay back its bailout money and then to simplify the company and generate funds. Now the figure is estimated to be close to the $100 billion mark.
Among the key sales during the period have been its sale of a stake in London airport in September 2008 to Credit Suisse; its sale of German insurance unit Augur Capital in December of the same year; the sale of its Japanese headquarters to Nippon Life in 2009; and the disposal of Polish consumer finance Banco Santander during the same year.
Though the prices of many of its sales have not been divulged publicly, the company’s chief executive officer Peter Hancock remarked last November that the total had passed $90 billion. This figure has climbed since – and includes the recent sale of its mortgage insurance unit for $3.4 billion as we reported last week (see
AIG sells business unit to Arch Capital).
What’s next for the insurer remains to be seen.
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