Units sale may bring $115 bn

American International Group Inc, the insurer that agreed last week to a federal takeover in exchange for an $85 billion loan, may get $115 billion by selling all its units, analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG said.

AIG, the largest US insurer by assets, may need to sell more than half its businesses to repay the debt, analysts led by Thomas Gallagher said today in a note to investors. The New York-based insurer operates in more than 100 countries.

Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy, who was appointed by the government last week, has said he intends to pay off the two-year loan early and that AIG will be “nimbler” after asset sales. The government agreed to extend the credit line in exchange for a 79.9 per cent stake after the Federal Reserve said AIG’s failure would disrupt financial markets.

“AIG has plenty of high quality businesses potentially for sale,” Gallagher said. Competitors from the US, Canada, Europe, China and Australia may be interested in units, he said.

The insurer’s overseas life insurance and US retirement services units are the most “coveted” businesses, Gallagher said. AIG’s foreign life insurance division could sell for more than $60 billion before taxes and its US life and retirement companies may fetch $25.2 billion, he said.

The aircraft leasing unit could sell for $3.4 billion before taxes, he said. Non-interest income went up 20.47 per cent to Rs 6.06 crore during the quarter.