New York : The US Treasury Department and American International Group, asked by Prudential to lower the $35.5 billion (Dh130 billion) price for the bailed-out insurer's main Asia unit, signalled they are committed to the original terms.
"Treasury has not considered any alternative other than the existing contract," Andrew Williams, spokesman for the department, said in an emailed statement.
The insurer won't be hurried into accepting less than what company executives think AIA Group is worth, according to a person briefed on the stance of New York-based AIG's management.
The person declined to be identified because the negotiations are private.
The insurers are discussing the terms of the deal in the last weeks before a Prudential shareholder vote on the transaction set for June 7. Prudential said Friday it had asked AIG to change the terms.
Too expensive
Investors in the London-based insurer including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments said the takeover was too expensive, a person with knowledge of the matter said last week.
Prudential spokesmen Edward Brewster and Robin Tozer didn't return messages left on their cellphones after business hours.
In March, AIG announced that Prudential agreed to pay $35.5 billion, about 70 per cent in cash, for AIA, which operates in 13 markets from China to Australia. The deal would be AIG's biggest step to repay US taxpayers for its $182.3 billion government bailout.
AIG could hold a public offering for AIA should the sale to Prudential fail, Jim Millstein, the Treasury's chief restructuring officer, said last week. AIG had been planning such an offering for the unit before striking the Prudential deal.
Robert Benmosche, chief executive officer of AIG, told the Congressional Oversight Panel in Washington last week that he had negotiated "a very aggressive price" for AIA.
