AIG sells Asian business AIA for $35.5B

AIG said the sale would include $25 billion in cash that would allow it to repay $16 billion to the New York Federal Reserve Bank, to date the largest single payment in its effort to pay down its government bailout debt of more than $180 billion.

"This transaction, the most significant milestone to date in our ongoing effort to repay taxpayers, also gives us greater flexibility to move forward with AIG's restructuring," AIG President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Benmosche said in a statement.

The purchase of AIA, which is based in Hong Kong, gives the 160-year-old British firm a far larger presence in Asia, where it already has 11 million insurance policies, The New York Times reported.

AIA has 23,500 employees and 23 million customers in 15 Asian markets, AIG said.

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