AIG unit Alico in MetLife’s sights

Shares of MetLife slid Wednesday, a day after the insurer confirmed that it’s in talks with American International Group Inc. about buying the American Life Insurance Company.

MetLife said that a deal for the AIG unit, which operates in more than 50 countries, isn’t certain.

MetLife Chief Executive Robert Henrikson spoke of the AIG talks Wednesday during a conference call.

“MetLife does not need to enter into any (merger and acquisition) transaction to meet our business objectives,” said Wednesday during an analyst call. “Any transaction we undertake would be accretive and financially attractive to our shareholders.”

Henrikson’s comments came at the beginning of the conference call to discuss the New York-based insurer’s fourth-quarter earnings.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. analyst Jeffrey Schuman said MetLife’s capital position “affords them the possibility of funding part of an acquisition, perhaps $2 billion to $3 billion, from existing resources.”

For the final three months of the year, MetLife Inc. earned $289 million, or 35 cents per share. That compares with $954 million, or $1.20 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Operating earnings, which exclude realized capital gains and losses, rose to 96 cents from 17 cents.

Revenue fell nearly 12 percent to $12.34 billion.