American International Group Inc.'s (NYSE:AIG) subsidiary International Lease Finance owns and leases a fleet of about 955 aircrafts, a cash cow that the New York insurer now has to sell as it repays its massive debt to the U.S. government.
Unfortunately the potential buyers may be a little leery of bidding on the unit because of possible financial repercussions related to its position as the owner of an Airbus plane that crashed on Tuesday into the Indian Ocean, carrying 153 people. The number of casualties from the tragedy has not been determined yet.
Reports say that most of the passengers were from Comoros, a former French colony. Sixty-six were French citizens, and one passenger was reportedly from Canada. The Street.com reported Monday that AIG was the biggest buyer of Airbus and Boeing planes and International Lease is one of AIG's most profitable units, earning $703.1 million in 2008, a 16% increase from the year prior.
AIG is already paying for losses from a U.S. Airways plane crash in the Hudson River earlier in the year. The insurer was deemed financially responsible for the costs through a hull and liability policy it carried with U.S. Airways. - Gerald Magpily
See Reuters article on crash
See TheStreet.com article
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