Treasury Announces Public Offering Of AIG Common Stock

(Newsroom America) -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced it has launched an underwritten public offering of $4.5 billion of bailed out insurance giant American International Group, Inc. (AIG) common stock.

AIG was rescued by the Treasury and Federal Reserve in 2008 in a complex bailout.

After the latest sale, there would be about $25.5 billion in taxpayer money still invested in AIG, which

AIG took about $125 billion of government money in exchange for a 92% taxpayer stake in the company.

Treasury and the Fed have been selling down that stake and the latest sale would further reduce the government's 61% stake.

Treasury said AIG has indicated that it intends to purchase up to $3 billion of the common stock sold by Treasury in this offering at the initial public offering price.

The underwriters in the offering also have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $675 million in common stock from Treasury.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC have been retained as joint bookrunners for the offering.