By the end of March, Ameriprise Financial Services and three private-equity firms are expected to submit final bids for AIG's three broker-dealers, according to TheDeal.com.
The AIG groups on the block, led by Larry Roth, are FSC Securities of Atlanta, Royal Alliance Associates of New York, and SagePoint Financial of Phoenix, formerly AIG Financial Advisors. They include an estimated 7,000-plus advisors.
Along with Minneapolis-based Ameriprise, other bidders include the private equity firms Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc., which has reportedly invested $11 billion from 1978-2008 and has its main offices in New York and London; GTCR Golder Rauner LLC of Chicago with about $8 billion in assets; and Warburg Pincus of New York, which has about $30 billion in assets.
For its part, Ameriprise Financial Services says its current cash and cash equivalents stand at $6 billion, which may give it the ability to fund such a deal. It bought H&R Block Financial Advisors, with 950 brokers and about $27 billion in assets under management, in November 2008.
