American International Group Inc., the insurer shedding assets to pay back a $182.5 billion U.S. bailout, plans to sell its stake in an Argentine consumer finance operation to Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SA and an investment group arranged by Grupo Pegasus.
The sale would be of New York-based AIG's holdings in Compañía Financiera Argentina SA, known as CFA; Cobranzas y Servicios SA, and AIG Universal Processing Center SA, according to a statement Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
AIG, once the world's biggest insurer, has announced about $5.6 billion of asset sales since it was rescued last September by the federal government. Chief executive officer Edward Liddy plans to use the sales to repay the capital injections, loans and guarantees.
CFA makes personal loans in Argentina; it has about 1 million customers, 93 branches and distribution agreements with about 3,900 retailers, the statement said.
The deal needs approvals from the Argentine Central Bank and the Argentine National Commission for the Defense of Competition, AIG said.
