Primus consortium to buy Nan Shan Life Insuranceáfrom AIG

American International Group (AIG) yesterday announced that it has agreed to sell its 97.57% stake in Taiwan's Nan Shan Life Insurance to a consortium made up of Primus Financial Holdings and China Strategic Holdings for $2.15 billion. The sale is the largest so far in Asia by the debt-ridden US insurance group, which is still saddled with $86.3 billion of government bailout money.

With total assets of more than $46 billion, Nan Shan is Taiwan's largest life insurance company by book value. It was established in 1963 and currently has 7.9 million policies held by 4 million people. In 2008 it had an 11.4% share of Taiwan's life insurance market, according to consultancy group Celent. Its most valuable asset is said to be its large sales force.

"We aim to develop Nan Shan into a leading Taiwan-based, pan-Asian financial services company," said Robert Morse, chairman and co-CEO of Primus, in a written statement. "Nan Shan's management team, agents, and employees are an integral part of this vision." Presumably to ensure it can keep hold of these employees, the buyer has agreed to maintain the Nan Shan brand, as well as current compensation levels for the insurer's staff for at least two years. Nan Shan's management team will also remain unchanged.