AIA float to value insurer below Pru offer

AIG is set to press ahead with the IPO of its Asian arm AIA, which is likely to value the group at a lower price than the renegotiated offer it rejected from UK insurer Prudential.

The Asian insurer is set to raise between $13.9bn to $14.9bn in the IPO, with an over-allotment option of an extra 15% should there be strong investor demand. It values AIA between $28.5bn and $30.6bn, Bloomberg reports. Prudential originally planned to acquire AIA for $35.5bn, but was forced to renegotiate after the UK insurer's shareholders planned to vote against the deal. It renegotiated the price down to $30.4bn, equivalent to the top end of the IPO range, but it was rejected by the AIG board. Investors "are probably more tempted by a valuation closer to $30 billion," Christopher...