UPDATE: AIG Names Tucker AIA Head; AIA To List In HK 'As Soon As Practicable'

19th Jul 2010 05:51

(Adds Tucker's previous role; Prudential's bid for AIA and AIA's presence in Asia.) By Nisha Gopalan and Aries Poon Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--American International Group Inc. (AIG) said Monday it has named Mark Tucker, a former chief executive of Prudential PLC (PUK), as the new head of its overseas life insurance unit, AIA Group Ltd., as it moves toward an initial public offering for AIA on the Hong Kong stock exchange "as soon as practicable." Tucker has been named executive chairman and chief executive of AIA, while Hong Kong-based Mark Wilson, now AIA's chief executive, will work closely with Tucker to support a smooth transition between now and the end of the year, AIG said. After that, Wilson expects to pursue other opportunities, the insurer said, without elaborating. AIG is aiming to raise as much as US$23 billion from share sales of AIA to strategic investors and to the public in a Hong Kong offering by late October or early November, people familiar with the situation said earlier. The cash will go to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which holds a stake in AIA and has been AIG's top creditor since a federal bailout of the insurance giant in 2008. After Prudential, which last month terminated a deal to buy AIA for US$35.5 billion as its shareholders balked at the price tag, Tucker, a British citizen, left the insurer and was non-executive director at the Bank of England, the U.K.'s central bank, according to people familiar with the situation. Prudential's failed acquisition of AIA was led by Prudential's current chief executive, Tidjane Thiam, and AIG chief executive Robert Benmosche had pushed hard for it. Since its failure, AIG's board of directors have decided the company should revert to an earlier plan to launch an IPO of AIA by the end of 2010. AIA's Hong Kong listing is subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions, AIG said Monday. "After reviewing various options to monetize AIA's substantial value, we have concluded that an IPO is our best option," AIG Chief Executive Robert H. Benmosche said. "Mark Tucker has the public company experience, track record, relationships, judgment, and leadership qualities that will help us accomplish our ambitious goals of not just taking a company of AIA's size and scope public, but building on this great platform for the long term to create Asia's pre-eminent, publicly traded insurance company. "Teams at both AIG and AIA have already done an enormous amount of very good work to prepare for an IPO, and we remain committed to ensuring that we execute this plan for the benefit of policy holders, distribution partners, shareholders, and U.S. taxpayers," Benmosche said. Tucker was group chief executive of the U.K.'s Prudential from May 2005 to September 2009, and chief executive of Prudential Corp. Asia from 1992 to 2003. In his Asian role, Tucker "developed and led the strategy that propelled Prudential's rapid growth across Asia and established a strong regional presence," AIG said. The AIA Group has branch offices, subsidiaries and affiliates in Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. -By Nisha Gopalan and Aries Poon, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2832-2343; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 19, 2010 00:51 ET (04:51 GMT)