AIG chooses coordinators for AIA IPO: WSJ

Insurer American International Group has selected investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as global coordinators for an initial public offering of its Asian life insurance unit AIA, a media report said.

Attributing the development to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal said in a report, "AIG has chosen Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as global coordinators for the listing of a stake in its largest overseas life insurance business."

AIG, under majority ownership of the US government, has also enlisted Deutsche Bank AG to advise it on the initial public offering of AIA, which the insurer must sell to help repay US taxpayers, the report cited a person in the know as saying.

A key consideration for the banks would be how to minimise the risk of tapping investors for capital when the outlook for equity valuations is so uncertain, WSJ stated.

"AIG's management is especially keen on avoiding hiccups after Prudential PLC's $35.5 billion bid for AIA collapsed last month," the report quoted inner sources as stating.

One way to minimise risk is to sell shares offered in the issue in large chunks to cornerstone investors ahead of the IPO.

The WSJ quoted a banker involved in the deal as saying, "No stone will be left unturned" in the search for prospective pre-IPO buyers.