APOLLO, HARBINGER AND GUGGENHEIM LOOKING AT AVIVA US LIFE

UK-based composite Aviva is reported to have received offers from Apollo Global Management, Harbinger Capital and Guggenheim Partners for AmerUS, the US life division that it Aviva is seeking to sell. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported that some of the bidders had held discussions with other investors about forming consortia to dilute the cost of any deal, which could be for more than $1.5bn. Guggenheim had already been reported as an interested party (IIN 24 August 14 2012) after a possible sale was mooted in April. Including assumed debt, Aviva paid £1.8bn when it bought the company in 2006. It wrote down £876m ($1.41bn) in goodwill and intangibles relating to the operation in its first-half figures (IIN 24 August 9 2012). After a strategic review from executive chairman John McFarlane, initiated earlier this year after the departure of CEO Andrew Moss in May, Aviva said that it would be selling or running off 16 units that it designated as "non-core"