Chapter 638 The advantage is mine
The Cavendish Trust Fund previously owned by Barron was acquired by the British Youcheng Group for US$2.85 billion, and with the subsequent injection of restructuring funds into it, it was only Around US$3 billion.
The value of AIA has exceeded US$20 billion - this is despite the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and the decline in the value of the company in the entire market.
The main reason why American International Group has fallen into its current situation is that their financial department is too involved in the secondary securities insurance business, and their other businesses are not actually that big. This is one of the main reasons why the U.S. government was finally willing to rescue it.
Then merging AIA Insurance Company through Youcheng Insurance Group, in the eyes of the outside world, is a proper move...
"Your Highness the Duke, we do have the idea of selling some assets, but currently we are only preparing to sell 49% of the shares of AIA to introduce new investors to it..."
Next, Barron's and America When Edward Liddy, chairman and CEO of International Group, met, the other party said:
“And there are also many companies interested in this, including China Life Insurance and Prudential Group of England who want to discuss this. "
"If I were you, I wouldn't make such a choice, Mr. Li Di,"
Barron shook his head and said.
"Why?"
Although Edward seemed to think that from Barron's position, it was not surprising to say such a thing, he still asked with a little curiosity.
“What American International Group needs most now is funds and time. Among them, time is a higher priority, so that your losses in CDS will not have too many chain reactions and accumulate. "
Edward had to agree with what Barron said. He heard the British Duke in front of him continue to say:
"If the U.S. government could directly spend more than 150 billion US dollars to rescue AIG from the beginning, I am afraid that your situation can be controlled, but the key is that this decision could not have been made a few months ago. In the end, It can only carry out the first $85 billion bailout, which is like a fuel tactic, but cannot decisively solve the problem.”
"It seems like this now, Your Highness the Duke, but the situation at the time..."
Indeed, it seems from now on that what Barron said is the right thing to do, but things always have to wait until the dust settles. The overall appearance was seen clearly. As for four or five months ago... At that time, the American International Group, not to mention itself, did not know what a big hole they were in. Even if they could really know, how could they dare to do anything? What about reporting ten truthfully?
If the U.S. government knew at that time that it would require more than 150 billion U.S. dollars, or even close to 200 billion U.S. dollars to successfully rescue, I am afraid that even the bankruptcy of American International Group would have a greater chain reaction. This company's decision is not that easy to make.
"Yes, it won't help to say this now, but at least there are still things that can be done. You and I both know, sir, that AIG cannot continue to retain all of its businesses, and there must be choices. Not only is AIA's value relatively higher, but its main business is in Asia, so it is the most suitable to exchange for precious funds..."
"Even if selling AIA is an option, Your Highness, you also said that time and funds are what we need, so at this time, we also need a sincere bid.”
Yes, Edward Liddy made it clear that in the end they still have to look at the bid to make the decision!
……
“We have communicated with the personnel of the Ministry of Finance today, His Royal Highness, they welcome our acquisition, and the relevant regulatory agencies will not be too strict on it. review..."
For An Barron still agrees with Belle Sheehan’s words. After all, under the current circumstances, whether it is for the sake of stabilizing America’s finances or the party’s “struggle” for the election situation, this kind of investment can help the American International Group carry out its operations. Self-help acquisitions will receive special treatment. What's more, they are the capital of Britain, and they are not targets that need to be carefully scrutinized.
After arriving in New York, Barron moved into a manor on Long Island. Relatively speaking, the environment here was more satisfactory to Barron than the penthouse in Manhattan.
Amber Sheehan has also come from London a long time ago to personally take charge of this acquisition of AIA-this acquisition is destined to become the largest insurance company merger and acquisition in the world this year. .
In terms of pursuing AIA, it seems that AIA Group is still in a relatively advantageous position. Currently, their two biggest competitors are China Life Insurance and British Insurance Group. company, and the number one Prudential Group.
However, China Life is only prepared to purchase part of the shares of AIA. If it hopes to acquire the entire AIA, there is no doubt that due to certain factors, it will inevitably face strict scrutiny from relevant parties in the United States. It is very willing. can repeat the mistake of PetroChina’s acquisition of Unocal.
As for Prudential...
They themselves have a large amount of business in Asia - Prudential Group has been rooted in the Asian market for nearly a century. It currently has more than 20 million customers in Asia and has a total of more than 60 billion US dollars in assets in 13 markets in the region. It is Asia's largest one of the foreign insurance companies.
Last year, Asia's business accounted for one-third of Prudential's total global sales and half of its total profits.
This is also the reason why they are interested in taking a stake in AIA and even making acquisitions.
According to an analysis by a think tank led by Barron, if Prudential Group completes its acquisition of AIA, 80% to 90% of Prudential Group’s future sales and profits will come from the Asian market, where Prudential Group has Regions will gain dominance.
In Barron's previous life, Prudential had intended to acquire AIA, but the acquisition ended in miscarriage.
After all, a merger of this scale, including two insurance companies of this scale, will inevitably be scrutinized by relevant regulatory agencies in Asia, including the European Union and the United States.
Furthermore, AIA will also consider whether there will be any conflict with the relevant businesses of the original Prudential Group after the acquisition.
To put it this way, given the size of Youcheng Insurance Group at this time and the huge gap between its business in Asia and AIA, it is easier to win in this merger.
After all, time is also very important to American International Group, and even if the regulatory review can be passed, the time required will increase with the increase in the scale and market share of both parties to the merger and acquisition. And it gets longer and longer.
In this regard, I am afraid that American International Group will not be so patient and wait forever.
In addition, the U.S. government is not just Barron’s. After hiring JPMorgan Chase as their service provider for the acquisition of AIA, a subsidiary of American International Group, Jamie Dimon also used JPMorgan Chase’s connections to start working on this. ……
(End of this chapter)