AIG Stock Moving Back to Reality (Update)
(Stock price updated)
NEW YORK (
) -- Shares of
American International Group
(AIG) - Get Report
appear to be slowly falling back to reality.
After a significant jump over the past week
-- a move many market watchers believe was borne of emotion and speculation -- shares of the flailing insurer plunged more than 17% to $37.47.
Sell AIG!: Against the Grain
The move might have also reflected news from earlier this morning, as Reuters reported that whoever wins the bid for AIG's Taiwan unit will need a little patience: The buyer of Nan Shan Life is expected to run the division for at least seven years, Reuters reported, citing Taiwan's financial regulators.
So anyone looking to buy the unit and then swiftly sell it off is out of luck.
AIG has been having difficulty selling Nan Shan
, as bidders are scaling back their offers. Three bidders offered $1.5 billion, below the $2 billion AIG expected, Reuters reported.
Bids on the unit include: a joint bid from
Caryle Group
and
Fubon Financial
; a joint bid from
Primus Financial
and
China Strategic
; and a solo bid from
Cathay Financial
.
But new CEO
Robert Benmosche may not go for the low-ball bids
. He has stated that he will not be as free in selling off AIG's assets for barrel-bin prices in an effort to repay the insurer's $85 billion loan from the government.
-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.
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