AIG Hires Patton Boggs to Lobby on Deal With China Group

(Updates with AIG comment in the last paragraph.)

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc., the insurer that repaid a U.S. bailout last year, hired Patton Boggs LLP to lobby lawmakers over a deal to sell its aircraft- leasing unit.

The firm registered to represent AIG effective Dec. 7, the day the insurer said it was in talks to sell International Lease Finance Corp. to a group of Chinese investors. The $4.2 billion deal requires approval from regulators in China and the U.S.

AIG suspended all lobbying in October 2008, a month after the U.S. provided the first part of a $182.3 billion rescue. The U.S. on Dec. 11 sold the last shares it had acquired in the bailout of the New York-based insurer.

Patton Boggs handles regulatory and legal matters related to international business deals, according to the Washington- based firm’s website. CNBC reported earlier today that AIG hired the firm.

“AIG has provided information about the company to government officials on an ongoing basis, said Jim Ankner, a spokesman for the insurer. “The reported activity is an extension of those efforts.”

--Editors: Dan Kraut, Rick Green

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