AIG Inc’s life insurance and retirement unit Corebridge Financial Inc raised $1.68 billion on Wednesday in its biggest IPO this year, risking market volatility and ending a seven-month hiatus in major listings.
AIG said it sold 80 million shares of Corebridge at $21 a share, below the lower end of its specified target range of $21 to $24 a share. The IPO valued Corebridge at $13.6 billion.
According to an earlier SEC filing, all proceeds from the IPO will go to AIG, and the new company will not raise new capital.
Corbridge’s stock sale could help shrug off a dormant IPO market. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rampant inflation, which has pushed up interest rates, have been driving stock market volatility since February, making it difficult for companies to go public.
US IPOs are having their worst year in more than 20 years, according to Dealogic, which tracks 1995 listing data. According to the data provider, companies have raised about $18 billion so far this year, up from more than $231 billion a year ago.
Others, including social media platform Reddit and software company ServiceTitan, have also been forced to delay IPO plans this year due to market volatility.
Corebridge raised $1.7 billion in the largest US IPO this year, beating private equity firm TPG Inc’s $1.1 billion listing in January.
AIG first announced the separation of its life and retirement divisions and listed it as a newly public company in 2020, allowing the insurance giant to focus on its property and casualty business.
The move reflects a broader trend to focus on a single product offering, given insurers’ varying returns to shareholder separation campaigns.
AIG filed for the Corebridge offering in March after selling a 10% stake to private equity firm Blackstone Inc for $2.2 billion last year. It was originally planned to go public by the end of June but was delayed due to market volatility.
The Houston-based AIG subsidiary provides retirement solutions and insurance products in the US.
After the listing, AIG will control nearly 78% of the company, and Corebridge will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “CRBG.”
JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Piper Sandler Co are the lead underwriters of the IPO. Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are also lead underwriters of the IPO.
