By George Chen and Rachel Lee
HONG KONG/TAIPEI, July 3 (Reuters) - Global investors
Carlyle and Primus are among the bidders for AIG's Taiwan insurance unit, sources said on Friday, as the
troubled U.S. insurer looks to divest some of its global assets.
Friday is the deadline for interested companies to submit
their proposals to purchase Nan Shan Life, AIG's Taiwan unit, in
a deal that could be worth more than $2 billion, sources close
to the bidders told Reuters.
"I think almost everybody in the industry is interested in
Nan Shan, but the only problem is of course price, so those who
decide to submit bids will be really brave and aggressive
investors," one source told Reuters.
Chinatrust Financial and Cathay Financial groups in Taiwan, which Taiwan media reported are also
interested in buying up Nan Shan, declined to comment.
Representatives for Washington D.C.-based Carlyle and Hong
Kong-based Primus Financial Holdings, founded by Robert Morse, a
former top Citigroup Inc executive for Asia, declined to
comment.
In June, sellside adviser Morgan Stanley distributed
key financial data of Nan Shan to potential buyers including
some of Nan Shan's domestic rivals.
Several private equity industry sources who looked at Nan
Shan said they were concerned about the asset quality of the
Taiwanese insurer as well as the gap of price between what the
seller targets and the buyer may want to pay for.
Last month, sources told Reuters that several U.S. private
equity firms and Taiwanese financial groups, such as JC Flowers,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Fubon Financial,
were interested in bidding for Nan Shan.
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Sean Chen
told reporters on Friday regulators would welcome the deal so
long as foreign investors have a long-term interest in the
island's financial markets.
If AIG sells Nan Shan, it will not be the first foreign firm
to get rid of insurance units in Taiwan.
Last October, Holland's ING Groep sold its
insurance unit to Fubon for $600 million, while Britain's
Prudential got rid of its Taiwan operation to
Taipei-based China Life earlier this year.
(Writing by Lee Chyen Yee; editing by Simon Jessop)
((chyenyee.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters
Messaging: chyenyee.lee.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: NANSHAN/
(If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
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