AIG, Treasury plan large stock sale: sources.

 (Reuters) - American International Group Inc (AIG.N) and the Treasury Department are planning a large stock offering for the first half of 2011 which could see the government cut its stake in the bailed-out insurer by as much as 20 percentage points, sources familiar with the matter said.
AIG and the Treasury would both sell stock in the offering, which could total more than $10 billion, according to the sources.
The Treasury is set to own 92.1 percent in AIG after a plan that charts an eventual exit from its investment in the bailed-out insurer closes by the end of the first quarter. AIG got a $182.3 billion taxpayer-funded aid package during the financial crisis.
An offering could come as early as March, but the discussions are preliminary, and the exact size and timing have not been decided, the sources said.
"We hope to be able to go to the market with a public offering of AIG this spring, but we have work to do to make that happen," AIG spokesman Mark Herr said. "We are working as diligently as we can to achieve this as quickly as possible, subject to market conditions.
"We remain committed to executing the steps and meeting all conditions in the recapitalization agreement as soon as possible," he said.
The Treasury declined to comment. The sources are anonymous because these discussions are not public.
AIG's shares were off 0.8 percent to $43.62 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Paritosh Bansal and Ben Berkowitz; Additional reporting by David Lawder in Washington; editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Tim Dobbyn)