AIG has received offers of up to $3bn for Nan Shan, its Taiwan insurance unit, in spite of tough scrutiny of a sale from regulators, which last year blocked a $2.15bn disposal of the division.
After the US insurer put Nan Shan back on sale in September, prospective buyers “have approached AIG and have provided unsolicited letters of interest in purchasing Nan Shan at prices that range from $2.15bn to $3bn”, AIG wrote in a November letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission that was made public this week.
It is understood that the main bidders for Nan Shan, Taiwan’s third-biggest insurer with 4m policyholders, are Taiwanese. They include three financial groups – Chinatrust, Fubon and Cathay – as well as Ruentex, a conglomerate with interests ranging from hypermarkets to textiles. Taiwan Secom, a security services provider, said this week it was in partnership with Primus Financial, the winner of the first auction, to submit a bid to buy part or all of Nan Shan.