American International Group is bidding its Asian assets to improve its capital base, sale of Nan Shan is likely to fetch over $2 billion
Primus Financial Holdings has planned to collaborate with a Hong Kong-listed battery maker to bid for American International Group’s (AIG) Taiwan unit – Nan Shan Life – reported in Reuters.
AIG, bailed out by the US government in the financial breakdown, is bidding its Asian assets to improve its capital base. The sale of Nan Shan is expected to fetch over $2 billion.
China Strategic Holdings, whose major businesses include battery production and securities investments, stated that it signed a non-legally binding agreement with Primus to jointly bid for a controlling stake in an insurance firm. China Strategic also stated that it planned to raise about HK$7.8 billion ($1.01 billion) to fund the possible joint acquisition, although it did not name the deal target.
Taiwan regulators have made choosing a domestic partner a pre-condition for the second round of bidding for Nan Shan Life, expected in late August.
Primus is in discussions with small Taiwan life insurer – Hontai to form a joint bid, but the alliance would have little chance of winning as Hontai lacks size and market share.