DealBook: A.I.G. in Talks to Sell Control of Its Aircraft Leasing Unit

Eric Thayer/ReutersAmerican International Group’s offices in New York.

The American International Group said on Friday that it was in talks to sell a majority stake in its big aircraft leasing unit to a group led by several Chinese institutions. It would be another major asset sale by the bailed-out insurer, which is still paying off billions it received from the federal government.

A.I.G. is discussing selling a 90 percent stake in the unit, the International Lease Finance Corporation, to a consortium that includes the China Aviation Industrial Fund and an arm of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Other members of the group are New China Trust, New China Life Insurance and P3 Investments Limited.

The company did not give a timeline for the talks.

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Since its taxpayer-financed bailout during the financial crisis of 2008, A.I.G. has been moving to sell off assets to help repay its lifeline. Among the businesses that it has sold are two major international life insurance operations: AIA, its former unit in Asia, and the American Life Insurance Company.

International Lease Finance Corporation, the aircraft leasing business commonly known as I.L.F.C., has also long been on the sale block. In its statement on Friday, the insurer said that it had consistently regarded the division as a noncore asset.

Last fall, A.I.G. filed to take the unit public. But a sale of the aircraft lessor would provide a quicker and more certain path to disposing of the business.

I.L.F.C. came under pressure during the financial crisis, burdened by an enormous debt load. It has since rebounded. For the first nine months of the year, it earned $339.7 million, in contrast to a $736.4 million loss during the same time last year.

A version of this article appeared in print on 12/08/2012, on page B4 of the NewYork edition with the headline: A.I.G. in Talks to Sell Control of Its Aircraft Leasing Unit.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/a-i-g-in-talks-to-sell-aircraft-leasing-unit/?partner=rss&emc=rss