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AIG backers in rescue quest
Bill Condie, Evening Standard22.09.08
Disgruntled shareholders of American International Group (AIG) are meeting in New York today to try to find an alternative to the $85 billion (£46.4 billion) Federal Reserve takeover that dilutes their stakes.
The insurer, crippled by housing-market losses, last week agreed to turn over control to Washington in exchange for the loan.
Former AIG chief Hank Greenberg has been critical of the deal, saying the insurer only needed a short-term bridging loan.
His lawyer, David Boies, said Greenberg would be represented but was not leading the rearguard shareholder action. Greenberg held about 11% of the company before the takeover.
Robert Willumstad, the AIG chief executive replaced as part of the rescue, has rejected a $22million severance payment he was entitled to under his contract.
He said he would not take the money because his three-month tenure ended before he could unveil a turnaround strategy and because investors and employees had lost so much on AIG stock.
