AIG CEO expects "for sale" list next week, may avoid outright nationalization

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American International Group Inc should have a list of assets it wants to sell by next week, its new chief executive said on Monday, as the company prepares to split itself up to repay an emergency bailout loan.

The New York-based financial titan, which was once the world's most valuable insurer, needs to raise cash quickly to repay an $85 billion U.S. Federal Reserve loan that allowed it to avoid bankruptcy after taking massive losses on mortgage derivatives.

"We're going to take those assets which are probably very valuable, but can also be digested by buyers in relatively manageable bites, and we will simply start to market them," Edward Liddy, who was appointed AIG's chief executive last week, said in an interview on the CNBC financial news channel.

"I hope within the next seven to 10 days to be out there with a plan that lists everything that's for sale and maybe even execute some of those transactions by then," said Liddy, a former CEO of insurer Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL - News).

He said he hoped AIG would be able to pay back the Federal Reserve loan "as quickly as possible." If the loan is not repaid, the U.S. government has the right to take an almost 80 percent stake in the company.

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Reports on Monday said a group of large AIG shareholders, possibly including former CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, were looking at ways of repaying the loan quickly by organizing asset sales or raising capital.

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AIG shares jumped 22.6 percent on Monday, helped by reports that the shareholder group may be able to plot a way to prevent AIG from falling into the government's clutches, and some optimism that AIG may ultimately emerge as a strong company, if it can execute asset sales.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080922/business_us_aig_ceo.html