Aflac may buy AIG's Japan unit Alico: paper
TOKYO (Reuters) - Aflac Inc (AFL.N), the world's largest seller of supplemental disability insurance, will consider buying one of AIG's (AIG.N) Japan units as it sees growth potential in the country, a newspaper said on Wednesday.
Aflac chief executive Daniel Amos told the Nikkei business daily in an interview that Aflac plans to assess the value of Alico Japan, though he played down the company's interest in AIG's two other local units -- AIG Edison Life Insurance Co and AIG Star Life Insurance Co.
American International Group Inc, once the world's largest insurer, needs to raise cash quickly to repay an $85 billion U.S. Federal Reserve loan that allowed it to avoid bankruptcy after taking massive losses on mortgage derivatives.
AIG has said it planned to sell its three Japanese life insurance businesses in a sale Japanese media estimated could top $9.5 billion.
Alico operates as a life insurer in more than 55 nations and regions including Japan, while AIG Star Life and AIG Edison Life are AIG life insurance units based in Japan.
(Reporting by Sachi Izumi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
