NEW YORK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - AIG has lowered its valuation for the planned initial public offering of its Asian life insurance business, AIA, to secure a $1 billion commitment from the Kuwait Investment Authority and other cornerstone investors, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
American International Group had initially aimed to sell shares in AIA at a level that would value the company at $35 billion to $37 billion, but cut the valuation in order to get Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund on board, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The sovereign wealth fund signed up to the IPO on the basis that AIA would be valued between $30 billion and $32 billion, according to the report.
Other big investors, including a number of Hong Kong tycoons, have also signed up for cornerstone stakes, the report said. In exchange for getting a fixed amount of the offering, the cornerstone investors will be subject to a six-month lock-up on their shares.
Khazanah, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, will also take a small stake.
Sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last month that AIG had secured approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for the IPO. AIA's management team was in advanced talks with several Middle Eastern and Asian sovereign funds to sell cornerstone stakes in AIA, sources told Reuters previously.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Diane Craft) Keywords: AIA/IPO (soyoung.kim@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: soyoung.kim.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 646 223 6033) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
American International Group had initially aimed to sell shares in AIA at a level that would value the company at $35 billion to $37 billion, but cut the valuation in order to get Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund on board, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The sovereign wealth fund signed up to the IPO on the basis that AIA would be valued between $30 billion and $32 billion, according to the report.
Other big investors, including a number of Hong Kong tycoons, have also signed up for cornerstone stakes, the report said. In exchange for getting a fixed amount of the offering, the cornerstone investors will be subject to a six-month lock-up on their shares.
Khazanah, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, will also take a small stake.
Sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last month that AIG had secured approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for the IPO. AIA's management team was in advanced talks with several Middle Eastern and Asian sovereign funds to sell cornerstone stakes in AIA, sources told Reuters previously.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Diane Craft) Keywords: AIA/IPO (soyoung.kim@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: soyoung.kim.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 646 223 6033) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.