(Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc., the insurer pressured by activist investor Carl Icahn to boost returns, announced a plan to repurchase another $3 billion of shares.
The move lifts to $4.3 billion the amount that the company is authorized to buy back, New York-based AIG said Wednesday in a statement. AIG said it has already repurchased about $9.7 billion this year through Tuesday.
Chief Executive Officer Peter Hancock has been selling assets including stakes in aircraft lessor AerCap Holdings NV and consumer lender Springleaf Holdings Inc. to simplify the company and help fund buybacks. Last week he raised more than $700 million selling shares in China’s PICC Property & Casualty Co.
The additional authorization “will enable AIG to continue returning excess capital to shareholders, while finalizing authorization plans for 2016,” Chairman Douglas Steenland said in the statement. “The timely return of excess capital to shareholders is one of AIG’s strategic priorities.”
Related: AIG CEO names new executive team
AIG climbed 0.8% to $61.40 in extended trading at 4:45 p.m. in New York. The statement was released after U.S. markets closed.
Icahn said in October that Hancock should split the insurer into three separate companies. The CEO has rejected that strategy saying he will focus on simplifying operations, improving financial performance and returning capital to shareholders.
Check us out on Facebook and give us a Like!
Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
