Japan injected money into U.S. company

Posted by Yuka as Japan

AIG sells Japanese divisions to raise
cash

TOKYO (AP) — Embattled insurer
American International Group says it will sell three of its Japanese life
insurance businesses.

In a statement late
Friday, the company says that as part of its effort to pay off a massive U.S.
government loan, it has decided to unload Alico Japan, AIG Edison Life Insurance
Co., and AIG Star Life Insurance Co.
On the brink
of failure last month, AIG was bailed out when the government offered it an $85
billion loan during the ongoing credit crisis that saw Lehman Brothers Holdings
file for bankruptcy protection and the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of
America.

In return for the loan, the government
has received warrants to purchase up to 79.9 percent of AIG.

Morgan Stanley to sell stake to Japan’s
MUFG
Last Updated: September 22, 2008: 12:44 PM
EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Morgan Stanley agreed to sell up to a fifth of
the company to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of Japan’s largest
banks, the companies announced Monday.
The
Tokyo-based financial institution said it had entered into an agreement to
acquire anywhere between 10% and 20% of Morgan Stanley’s common
stock.
Investors cheered the news as Morgan Stanley
(MS, Fortune 500) shares gained 10% in morning trading.
The announcement comes on the heels of late Sunday’s historic
decision by federal regulators to convert both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs
(GS, Fortune 500) from free-standing investment banks into bank holding
companies.
Morgan Stanley Chairman and CEO John
Mack said that the partnership with Mitsubishi UFJ, or MUFG, would be “valuable”
as Morgan Stanley transforms itself into a more diversified financial
institution.
“This strategic alliance with
Mitsubishi UFJ can put Morgan Stanley in an even stronger position as we look to
realize the opportunities we see in the rapidly changing financial marketplace,”
Mack said in a statement.
Mitsubishi UFJ, or MUFG,
said the two companies had not determined a price for the deal, although a 20%
stake of Morgan’s $30 billion market capitalization would be worth about $6
billion.
The deal, which would also give the
Japanese institution a spot on Morgan Stanley’s board, remains subject to due
diligence and regulatory approval.
Morgan Stanley
had reportedly been considering numerous strategic options in recent weeks,
including selling a larger stake to the state-run China Investment Corporation,
which acquired a 9.9% stake in the New York-based securities firm in December of
last year. At the time, that stake was worth about $5 billion.
The sale to MUFG, however, could also throw cold water on a
possible tie-up between Morgan Stanley and commercial bank Wachovia (WB, Fortune
500), which was the subject of much market speculation last week following the
stunning collapse of Lehman Brothers and equally dramatic merger between Bank of
America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500).

First Published: September 22, 2008: 9:33 AM
EDT