Head of AIG's Philippine unit says MBO not an option
MANILA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The head of the Philippine unit of American International Group (AIG) (AIG.N) said on Sunday he was not planning a management buy-out (MBO) of the Southeast Asian country's biggest insurer.
"There is no truth to the MBO rumours," Jose Cuisia, chief executive of the Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co (Philamlife), told Reuters.
"MBO is not an option," Cuisia said, adding the amount involved was too huge.
Cuisia, a former Philippine central bank governor, declined to identify the groups seeking to buy Philamlife other than to say they were composed of local and foreign groups.
"I cannot comment at this time who they are because they told me about it in confidence," he said.
The Chinese-Filipino Yuchengco family, owners of the country's sixth-largest listed bank Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCB.PS) and unlisted insurer Malayan Insurance Co Inc, were earlier identified by Cuisia as one of the interested buyers of Philamlife.
The clan's patriarch Alfonso Yuchengco and daughter Helen Dee are both out of the country on a trip to the United States planned months before AIG announced its plan to sell off assets, a source close to the family told Reuters.
Philamlife, with total assets of 170 billion pesos ($3.6 billion) and whose interests also include banking, asset management and outsourcing, is among the assets being sold by AIG to pay off its $85 billion debt to the U.S. government.
AIG, once the world's largest insurer, also plans to sell its three Japanese life insurance businesses in a sale estimated to top $9.5 billion.
AIG is seeking to quickly repay the federal loan it availed on Sept. 16 that carries a high interest rate and fees and must be repaid in two years.
The AIG Consumer Finance Group, Inc. and its Philippine-based subsidiary AIG PhilAm Savings Bank (AIGPASB) are also up for sale, the Manila-based bank said in a statement.
AIG Philam Savings Bank, jointly owned by AIG Consumer Finance Group and Philamlife, said the sale is not expected to have any impact on customers' deposit accounts.
"AIGPASB is ready to meet depositors entitlements to funds and meet its other obligations to its creditors, merchant partners, sales agencies, service providers and business partners as they come due," Joven Reyes, bank president, said in the statement.
Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) are the global coordinators for AIG's divestiture programme.
(Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Erica Billingham) ((rosemarie.francisco@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: rosemarie.francisco.reuters.com@reuters.net; +63 2 841-8937))
