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NU Online News Service, March 5, 12:56 p.m. EST
American International Group, Inc. said today it intends to sell in a public offering the remaining 9,192,662 shares of common stock of Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. (TRH) owned by American Home Assurance Company (AHAC), an AIG subsidiary.
AHAC currently plans to begin the offering on or prior to March 9, concurrent with TRH’s addition to the S&P Midcap 400 Index. AHAC intends to have a portion of the total shares offered reserved for purchase by index funds, AIG said.
AHAC’s current ownership position of 9,192,662 common shares of TRH represents about 13.8 percent of TRH’s common shares issued and outstanding.
Upon commencement of any offering, questions may be directed to Goldman, Sachs & Co and Wells Fargo Securities. A copy of the prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to the underwritten offering may be obtained when they are available from Kathleen E. Shannon, Corporate Secretary, American International Group, Inc., 70 Pine Street, New York, NY 10270; phone: 212-770-5123, AIG said.
In a related issue, the Internal Revenue Services has resolved a tax matter that has held up the sale of American Life Insurance Company by AIG, according to published reports.
AIG’s plan to sell Alico, a foreign life unit, to MetLife Inc., for $15 billion was sidetracked when a question arose about whether Alico must withhold U.S. taxes on income distributed to foreign clients who own Alico’s annuities and life insurance policies.
The deal would help AIG repay about $9 billion to the U.S. government.
The question arose during negotiations because of a 2004 IRS ruling that insurers must withhold U.S. taxes on income distributed to foreign clients who own their policies.
On Thursday, the IRS told AIG that Alico is exempt from that ruling, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing executives close to the negotiations.