去年保险公司美国国际集团(AIG)把旗下的亚洲业务这颗“王冠上的明珠”放到市场上待价而沽时,它希望可以藉此显示其各运营业务的质量,同时降低对美国联邦储备委员会(Fed)的负债。结果却事与愿违,这反而凸显了麻烦重重的拍卖过程和不切实际的期望,只会让AIG今后与美联储的关系更加扯不清。竞购AIG亚洲子公司美国友邦保险公司(AIA)的截止日期是本周五。包括汇丰控股(HSBC Holdings)和安盛(AXA S.A.)在内的很多潜在竞购者都放弃了;知情人士说,或许一个竞购者都不会有。AIG原本打算出售旗下AIA 49%的股份,不过后来表示要全盘出售。AIA是亚洲最大的人寿保险公司,在10个国家都有业务。拍卖明显要失败,这也解释了AIG请求政府重新协商救助条款的原因。救助计划的一个关键是允许AIG用运营子公司的股份(比如AIA的股份)来偿还对政府的部分债务。AIG欠政府的债务高达1,000亿美元。AIG的发言人说,如果任何潜在买家还需要更多的时间,我们准备和买家合作。他还说,我们知道会有多个竞购者。AIA最终可能会由美国政府所有。这种可能表明了政府救助计划令人不安的境遇。去年9月中旬救助计划最初制定的时候,主要的担忧是AIG偿还政府贷款的速度。如今,奥巴马政府必须更多地把AIG看作是一个运营公司,直接保护公司的盈利能力和资产。AIG表示,金融危机阻挠了它出售资产偿还政府贷款的努力。各银行都不愿向大型交易提供信贷,特别是金融业的交易。此外,为金融资产估值也是件很困难的事。独立债务研究公司CreditSights去年12月公布了一份报告,阐述了在经济动荡的形势下,为AIG子公司估值的困难。报告说,在最好的情况下,AIA亚洲(除日本外)人寿保险业务一半股份的价值为295亿美元,不过在最糟糕的情况下,价值会缩水七成,降到89亿美元。知情人士还说,AIG在出售资产上一贯动作迟缓,这阻碍了出售的进展。和拍卖中经常发生的一样,他们还抱怨AIG给出的200亿-400亿美元期望价格过高。在这个价位上,AIA的估值将高于很多竞购者的市值。此外这些人还说,AIA出售说明书中的很多假设前提都依靠去年8月份的信息,没有把市场的严重恶化考虑进来。AIG发言人说,我们有完整全面的信息备忘录,其中包含了尽可能新的信息。AIG去年10月就答应提供出售说明书,但是直到两周前才兑现,这让买家几乎没有什么时间准备竞购。说明书只有65页,而且其中4页还用来刊登了亚洲公司高管的照片,这令至少一家竞购者感到不快。最初有意竞购AIA的公司包括法国的安盛汇丰中国人寿中国银行英国保诚集团(Prudential PLC)苏黎世金融服务(Zurich Financial Services)旗下的Zurich Re和瑞士再保险公司(Swiss Reinsurance Co.)。新加坡主权财富基金淡马锡(Temasek)也曾考虑与汇丰或是英国保诚集团联手投资。除非这些公司最后一刻改变想法,否则现在可能没有一家公司会进行竞购。很多潜在竞购者给AIA的估值在150亿美元的区间,这比AIG预期的水平要低很多。AIG首席执行长李迪(Edward Liddy) 1月份访问了中国,试探中国有关部门对竞购AIA的态度。不过,中国高层告诉潜在的中国买家说,他们不会批准进行竞购。知情人士说,如果AIG一份收购要约都没有收到,或者没有收到令人满意的要约,它将考虑把AIA分拆出去。一种选择是引入合作伙伴,以AIG认为合理的市场估值收购AIA的少数股权。奥巴马政府可能会持有公司剩余的股份,直到市场状况允许进行首次公开募股(IPO)为止。AIG可能会让旗下的另外一个大型海外子公司美国人寿保险公司(American Life Insurance Co.)采取类似的途径。这家子公司在从日本到欧洲等50个国家都有业务。知情人士说,AIG最近从大都会保险(MetLife Inc)收到了对这个子公司的初步收购要约,这还要看尽职调查的情况。Matthew Karnitschnig / Rick Carew / Liam Pleven相关阅读美国国际集团寻求放宽救助方案条款 2009-02-24美国国际集团将出售日本总部大楼 2009-02-13中资银行不会竞购AIG亚洲寿险子公司 2009-02-12中投参与投标AIG子公司 2009-01-27 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', '601628.SH'));中国人寿保险股份有限公司(简称:中国人寿)英文名称:China Life Insurance Co.总部地点:中国大陆上市地点:上海证交所股票代码:601628document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', '601988.SH'));中国银行股份有限公司(简称:中国银行)英文名称:Bank Of China Ltd.总部地点:中国大陆上市地点:上海证交所股票代码:601988document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', '3988.HK'));中国银行股份有限公司英文名称:Bank of China Ltd.总部地点:中国大陆上市地点:香港交易所股票代码:3988document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', '2628.HK'));中国人寿保险股份有限公司(简称:中国人寿)英文名称:China Life Insurance Co. (China)总部地点:中国大陆上市地点:香港交易所股票代码:2628document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', '0005.HK'));汇丰控股有限公司(简称:汇丰控股)英文名称:HSBC Holdings PLC总部地点:英国上市地点:香港交易所股票代码:0005document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'AIG'));美国国际集团英文名称:American International Group Inc.总部地点:美国上市地点:纽约证交所股票代码:AIGdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'HBC'));汇丰控股有限公司(简称:汇丰控股)英文名称:HSBC Holdings PLC (ADS)总部地点:英国上市地点:纽约证交所股票代码:HBCdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'PUK'));英国保诚集团英文名称:Prudential PLC (ADS)总部地点:英国上市地点:纽约证交所股票代码:PUKdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'LFC'));China Life Insurance Co. (ADS)总部地点:中国大陆上市地点:纽约证交所股票代码:LFCdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'LFC'));中国人寿保险股份有限公司英文名称:China Life Insurance Co. (ADS)总部地点:中国大陆上市地点:纽约证交所股票代码:LFCdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'AXA'));AXA S.A. (ADS)总部地点:法国上市地点:纽约证交所股票代码:AXAdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'TEMAH.YY'));Temasek Holdings总部地点:新加坡(Singapore)股票代码:TEMdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'PRU.LN'));英国保诚集团英文名称:Prudential PLC总部地点:英国上市地点:伦敦股票代码:PRUdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', 'HSBA.LN'));Hsbc Holdings Plc总部地点:英国上市地点:伦敦股票代码:HSBAdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日15:13', '12062.FR'));Axa S.a.总部地点:法国上市地点:PARB股票代码:AXAF
When insurer American International Group put its Asian crown jewel on the auction block last year, it hoped a sale would highlight the quality of its operating businesses while reducing the debt owed to the Federal Reserve.Instead, the sale has become a symbol of a troubled auction process and unrealistic expectations that will only deepen AIG's entanglements with the Fed in the years ahead.Bids for the unit in question, American International Assurance Co., are due Friday. A number of prospective bidders, including HSBC Holdings and AXA SA, have abandoned the process and people close to the auction say there may be no offers at all. AIG initially intended to sell 49% of AIA, which is Asia's largest life insurer with operations in 10 countries. It has since signaled it would sell the whole unit.The apparent failure of the auction helps explain why AIG has asked the government to restructure the terms of its bailout. A key aspect of that plan involves permitting AIG to repay some of its obligations to the government, or as much as $100 billion -- with stakes in operating businesses, such as those in AIA.An AIG spokesman said if any potential buyers need more time, 'we're prepared to work with bidders.' He added, 'We know there will be multiple bidders.'The possibility that AIA could end up owned by the U.S. shows the uncomfortable circumstances of government rescue plans. When the rescue was first hatched in mid-September, the main concern was how quickly AIG would pay back government loans. Now the Obama administration must regard AIG as more of an operating business, directly protecting the company's profitability and assets.AIG says the financial crisis has hobbled its efforts to sell assets and repay the government loans. Banks are reluctant to provide credit for major transactions, especially in the financial sector. What's more, valuing financial assets has become difficult.A December report by CreditSights, an independent debt research firm, illustrated the difficulty of placing a value on AIG's subsidiaries amid the economic tumult. The report said that in a 'best case' scenario, a 50% stake in AIA's Asian life-insurance operations outside Japan would be worth $29.5 billion, but said the 'worst case' scenario was a 70% discount, or $8.9 billion.People close to potential bidders also say that AIG has been slow to market the business, hindering the sales effort. As is often the case in auctions, they also have griped about AIG's price expectations of $20 billion to $40 billion on AIA. At that price, AIA would be valued above the market values of many suitors.What's more, many of the assumptions in the AIA sales propsectus rely on information from August that doesn't take into account the severe deterioration in the market, the people say.'We had a thorough and comprehensive information memorandum that contained information that was current as can be,' an AIG spokesman said.The prospectus itself was promised to prospective buyers in October but wasn't delivered until two weeks ago, leaving suitors with little time to prepare a bid. At least one bidder was annoyed to find that the book was only 65 pages, four of them dedicated to photos of the Asian executives.The parties initially interested in vying for AIA included AXA of France, HSBC, China Life Insurance, Bank of China, Prudential PLC, Zurich Financial Services' Zurich Re and Swiss Reinsurance Co. Temasek, the Singapore sovereign-wealth fund, was also considering investing alongside HSBC or Prudential.Barring a last-minute change of heart, none of the parties is now likely to put forth a bid. A number of the potential bidders value AIA in the $15 billion range, well below the threshold AIG had been expecting.AIG Chief Executive Edward Liddy visited Beijing in January to sound out Chinese authorities on potential bids for AIA. But senior Chinese leaders told potential Chinese bidders they wouldn't approve offers.If AIG receives no bids or if the bids it does receive are unsatisfactory, the insurer would consider spinning off the unit, according to people familiar with its deliberations. One option would be to bring in a partner, or 'toe-hold' investor, who would take a minority stake in the business at what AIG considers a fair market valuation. The Obama administration could take ownership of the rest of the company and hold onto the stake until market conditions permit an initial public offering of stock.It might pursue a similar course for American Life Insurance Co., another big foreign unit, this one selling in 50 countries from Japan to Europe. AIG recently received a preliminary bid for this unit from MetLife Inc., dependent on due diligence, according to a person familiar with the matter.Matthew Karnitschnig / Rick Carew / Liam Pleven
When insurer American International Group put its Asian crown jewel on the auction block last year, it hoped a sale would highlight the quality of its operating businesses while reducing the debt owed to the Federal Reserve.Instead, the sale has become a symbol of a troubled auction process and unrealistic expectations that will only deepen AIG's entanglements with the Fed in the years ahead.Bids for the unit in question, American International Assurance Co., are due Friday. A number of prospective bidders, including HSBC Holdings and AXA SA, have abandoned the process and people close to the auction say there may be no offers at all. AIG initially intended to sell 49% of AIA, which is Asia's largest life insurer with operations in 10 countries. It has since signaled it would sell the whole unit.The apparent failure of the auction helps explain why AIG has asked the government to restructure the terms of its bailout. A key aspect of that plan involves permitting AIG to repay some of its obligations to the government, or as much as $100 billion -- with stakes in operating businesses, such as those in AIA.An AIG spokesman said if any potential buyers need more time, 'we're prepared to work with bidders.' He added, 'We know there will be multiple bidders.'The possibility that AIA could end up owned by the U.S. shows the uncomfortable circumstances of government rescue plans. When the rescue was first hatched in mid-September, the main concern was how quickly AIG would pay back government loans. Now the Obama administration must regard AIG as more of an operating business, directly protecting the company's profitability and assets.AIG says the financial crisis has hobbled its efforts to sell assets and repay the government loans. Banks are reluctant to provide credit for major transactions, especially in the financial sector. What's more, valuing financial assets has become difficult.A December report by CreditSights, an independent debt research firm, illustrated the difficulty of placing a value on AIG's subsidiaries amid the economic tumult. The report said that in a 'best case' scenario, a 50% stake in AIA's Asian life-insurance operations outside Japan would be worth $29.5 billion, but said the 'worst case' scenario was a 70% discount, or $8.9 billion.People close to potential bidders also say that AIG has been slow to market the business, hindering the sales effort. As is often the case in auctions, they also have griped about AIG's price expectations of $20 billion to $40 billion on AIA. At that price, AIA would be valued above the market values of many suitors.What's more, many of the assumptions in the AIA sales propsectus rely on information from August that doesn't take into account the severe deterioration in the market, the people say.'We had a thorough and comprehensive information memorandum that contained information that was current as can be,' an AIG spokesman said.The prospectus itself was promised to prospective buyers in October but wasn't delivered until two weeks ago, leaving suitors with little time to prepare a bid. At least one bidder was annoyed to find that the book was only 65 pages, four of them dedicated to photos of the Asian executives.The parties initially interested in vying for AIA included AXA of France, HSBC, China Life Insurance, Bank of China, Prudential PLC, Zurich Financial Services' Zurich Re and Swiss Reinsurance Co. Temasek, the Singapore sovereign-wealth fund, was also considering investing alongside HSBC or Prudential.Barring a last-minute change of heart, none of the parties is now likely to put forth a bid. A number of the potential bidders value AIA in the $15 billion range, well below the threshold AIG had been expecting.AIG Chief Executive Edward Liddy visited Beijing in January to sound out Chinese authorities on potential bids for AIA. But senior Chinese leaders told potential Chinese bidders they wouldn't approve offers.If AIG receives no bids or if the bids it does receive are unsatisfactory, the insurer would consider spinning off the unit, according to people familiar with its deliberations. One option would be to bring in a partner, or 'toe-hold' investor, who would take a minority stake in the business at what AIG considers a fair market valuation. The Obama administration could take ownership of the rest of the company and hold onto the stake until market conditions permit an initial public offering of stock.It might pursue a similar course for American Life Insurance Co., another big foreign unit, this one selling in 50 countries from Japan to Europe. AIG recently received a preliminary bid for this unit from MetLife Inc., dependent on due diligence, according to a person familiar with the matter.Matthew Karnitschnig / Rick Carew / Liam Pleven