AIG Sells Japan HQ for $1.2 Bil.

 

Embattled insurer American International Group Inc. said Monday it is selling its Japanese headquarters to Nippon Life Insurance Co. for $1.2 billion in cash.

The transaction, which would be among the biggest divestitures New York-based AIG has made to reimburse the U.S. government for its massive infusion of aid, is expected to close in the second quarter.

The 35-year-old building is 15 stories and sits on prime real estate in central Tokyo, next to the Imperial Palace. The property consists of about one acre of land.

AIG’s roots in Japan extend back to 1946, and the company is now the country’s biggest foreign casualty insurer.

The U.S. government provided AIG with an $85 billion loan in September. As market conditions worsened and losses piled up at the insurer, the government revised and expanded its loan package to AIG several times. The package of loans now totals nearly $180 billion after being expanded in March when New York-based AIG reported a fourth-quarter loss of $61.7 billion, the largest ever quarterly corporate loss in U.S. history.

During the first quarter, AIG said it lost $4.35 billion, or $1.98 per share, compared with $7.81 billion, or $3.09 per share, during the same quarter last year.

As part of the loan package, the government has also taken a roughly 80 percent stake in the insurance giant.

Shares of AIG fell 7 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $1.94 in morning trading Monday.

5/11/2009 10:22 AM CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)