Greenberg to sell AIG stock for at least $278M

Former American International Group Inc. Chairman and CEO Maurice R. Greenberg plans to sell most of his remaining shares in the insurer to Swiss bank UBS A.G. for at least $278 million. Mr. Greenberg's investment vehicle, Zug, Switzerland-based Starr International Co. Inc., said in a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it would sell as much as much as 10 million shares to UBS Securities L.L.C. during the next three years. Mr. Greenberg owns about 14 million shares, according to the filing. The deal, which the filing called a variable prepaid forward sale agreement, includes an upfront payment by UBS of $278.2 million. The shares are to be transferred in four transactions of 2.5 million shares each—with the first delivery due in three years, and the rest in three years and three months. According to the filing, Starr International is protected against the stock falling below $31.22 a share. Starr would be eligible for extra cash if the AIG stock rose to $46.38, beyond which UBS would receive the gain. Under the plan, Mr. Greenberg would offload most of his remaining interest in the New York-based insurer he built into a behemoth before his departure in 2005 and AIG's near-collapse in 2008 and roughly $180 billion U.S. government bailout. A spokesman for Starr International did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Ms. McCarthy is a reporter at Business Insurance, a sister publication to InvestmentNews.