AIG to sell shares in life unit Corebridge after IPO’s delay

AMERICAN International Group (AIG) said it will move ahead with plans to raise as much as US$1.9 billion selling shares in its life and retirement unit.

The insurer will offer 80 million shares in Corebridge Financial at US$21 to US$24 apiece in a proposed initial public offering (IPO), according to a statement Tuesday (Sep 6). The listing was slated for earlier this year before it was delayed amid a market downturn.

The offering is the first deal to launch after Labor Day, the US holiday considered a milestone for the restarting of the IPO season. Once complete, it would also end the longest IPO drought in over 2 decades, according to data compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It would also be the biggest IPO this year topping private equity firm TPG’s US$1.1 billion listing in January, Bloomberg’s data showed.

At the top of the marketed range, Corebridge would have a market value of more than US$15 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. AIG would control almost 78 per cent of the company’s shares after the listing, with Blackstone holding about 10 per cent. Corebridge’s shares are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CRBG.

AIG’s strategy

All proceeds of the Corebridge transaction will go to AIG and the new company isn’t raising new capital, according to the statement. The firm had more than US$350 billion in assets under management and administration as of end of June.

The IPO represents the culmination of a long-standing effort engineered by AIG chief executive officer Peter Zaffino and his predecessor Brian Duperreault to focus on core businesses and simplify operations.

Other insurers have taken similar steps. MetLife sold its property and casualty business to Zurich Insurance Group in 2021. Prudential Financial sold its full-service retirement arm earlier this year.

AIG ranked 13th in terms of premiums for the sale of life insurance, annuities, and related products in the US last year, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. It was 12th in property and casualty premiums for the same period.

SEE ALSO

Insurer AIA’s new business value drops on Covid disruption

JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley and Piper Sandler Cos are leading the share sale. Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs Group are also listed as advisers. BLOOMBERG