Reuters alone with sovereign wealth funds bidding for AIG’s ILFC

Reuters was first with news on Jan. 26 that sovereign wealth funds Temasek, China Investment Corp, Istithmar and Kuwait Investment Authority, had bid for AIG`s ILFC aircraft leasing unit. The auction for ILFC, valued at up to $10 billion, is being closely watched as AIG tries to sell assets to repay the U.S. government following a federal bailout that swelled to about $150 billion. While a slump in travel and tight credit markets will likely depress the valuations on ILFC, the involvement of sovereign wealth funds is good news for investors who were worried about how any company or private equity firm could afford the business model of a plane lessor. Bloomberg, Dow Jones and the New York Times were all forced to pick up the Reuters story. It was also cited in an analyst note from Macquarie Securities the next day.