AIG Makes Final Repayment to Government for Bailout
American International Group has gone private—sort of.
The insurance giant, whose massive derivative bets went sour at the height of the 2008 worldwide financial pandemic, announced Friday that it had paid the final installment of its $182 billion government bailout.
With the payment, AIG said the government no longer had a stake in the company.
"With AIG repurchasing all outstanding warrants issued to the U.S. Treasury, we are turning the final page on America's assistance to AIG," Robert H. Benmosche, AIG president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
"We appreciate the opportunities this support allowed and are proud to have returned to America every cent plus a profit of $22.7 billion."
AIG's troubles in 2008 forced it into the embrace of the Treasury, at a time when major investment banks were tottering while others slid into insolvency. Its bailout was part of a controversial rescue package worth more than $700 billion, and turned one of Wall Street's marquee names into a byword for government bailouts.
The instruments issued in 2008 gave the government the right to buy about 2.7 million shares of AIG's common stock at $50 per share.
AIG and Treasury agreed to repurchase its shares at a price of approximately $25 million for the warrants, the company said.
In midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, AIG's shares fell modestly, trading just below $38.
