Some of the United States’ top bankers descended on a law firm in Manhattan on Thursday to make a pitch for managing what could be one of the largest share sales in history — a secondary offering for bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon was among the executives attending the meeting. Dimon entered the building of law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP just after 9:30 a.m. EST in New York. Asked how the meeting went as he left, Dimon laughed and said: “How’d what go?”
Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman left the building shortly after Dimon arrived. The bankers on Gorman’s team were carrying thick blue folders emblazoned with the U.S. flag. One of Gorman’s colleagues carried a bag full of folders.
Gorman also declined to comment.
Bank of America Corp’s Brian Moynihan arrived just before 11 a.m. EST.
Security was tight, with guards keeping a close eye on all the building’s entrances and trying to block reporters and passersby from seeing executives as they came and went.
Bankers are expected to come and go throughout the day to make their case for managing a share sale that could exceed $20 billion, between the shares sold by the U.S. Treasury and those offered by AIG.
At that size, the AIG offering would rank as one of the 10 largest share sales of any kind in history.
After a recapitalization deal closes on Friday, the Treasury will own 92.1 percent of AIG. The government rescued AIG in September 2008 in a bailout that topped $182 billion.
Sources told Reuters on Wednesday that bankers were expected to pitch a fee structure of 75 basis points or less — low for a secondary offering, but still worth perhaps $150 million in fees to the winning banks on a $20 billion share sale.
The first share sale is most likely to happen after mid-May, once AIG has filed its financial report for the first quarter with securities regulators, sources have said. The sale could happen as soon as March if conditions were right.
AIG shares were trading 25 cents lower at $58.15 on Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
The shares are expected to tumble next week into the mid-$40 range, when recently approved stock warrants begin trading. The warrants, entitling holders to 75 million AIG common shares, were the final key step in the recap deal.
