AIG: Chinese buyers missed payment on ILFC

Insurer AIG raised questions Friday over the expected sale of its aircraft leasing unit ILFC after Chinese buyers failed to make a scheduled payment on the deal. In a securities filing, American International Group said the deposit on the $4.8 billion sale of International Lease Finance Corporation, announced last December, had not been received by its escrow agent. The payment was to be made by a consortium of Chinese buyers including New China Trust, New China Life Insurance, P3 Investments, China Aviation Industrial Fund and an investment arm of Chinese bank ICBC International, which signed an agreement to purchase up to a 90 percent stake in ILFC on December 9. The deal has needed the approval of regulators in both China and the United States. AIG, on the comeback trail after a $182 billion bailout by the US government in the 2008 financial crisis, has aimed at paring off its non-core assets to strengthen its balance sheet and compensate the government. Analysts at Barclays said they believe AIG still wants to complete the sale. "However, at this point we do not have clarity on whether the consortium of buyers plans to complete the transaction, or whether another factor such as required regulatory approvals could be holding up the deal," they said in a client note. AIG shares were down 2.5 percent at $45.04 in morning trade Friday.