American International Group Inc., the world’s largest insurer by assets, said its aircraft-leasing unit won’t be sold off as the parent company tries to recover from back-to-back quarterly losses, Bloomberg reports.
AIG Chief Executive Officer Robert Willumstad decided to hold onto International Lease Finance Corp., ranked No. 1 among aircraft lessors, after reviewing the operation and deciding it was essential, the New York-based company said today in a statement. The review was conducted with Steven Udvar-Hazy, ILFC’s chairman.
“AIG will continue to work with ILFC’s leadership on ways to enhance ILFC’s business to the benefit of both organizations,” Willumstad said in the statement.
Willumstad promised a companywide review of AIG with “no sacred cows” when he took over as CEO this month from Martin Sullivan, who was replaced after two quarters of record losses. The new chief has promised a turnaround plan by September. Bank of America Corp.’s John Guarnera had been among analysts speculating that the aircraft-leasing unit might be divested.
The review is supposed to cover all of AIG’s operations, which include offices in more than 100 countries and more than $45 billion of hard-to-value assets. AIG’s profit plummeted because of investments caught in the collapse of the U.S. housing market.
