American International Group, the US insurer which is selling assets as part of its attempt to pay off debts, has received the first round of bids for its aircraft leasing unit, and is expected to start shopping its asset management business soon, people familiar with the matter said, according to Reuters.

AIG has received the first round of bids for its International Lease Finance unit and the sale process is now in the early due diligence stage, the sources said, adding that the process is fluid and the timeline was unclear.

AIG has also retained UBS to sell its asset management business, and books are expected to go out shortly, possibly as early as this week, sources said.

The third-party asset management business rests within AIG Investments, which had $111.5 billion in client assets under management overall as of 30 September last year.

AIG did not immediately respond to calls from WealthBriefing on the matter.

Last month, AIG agreed to sell its private banking unit, another business within its asset management group, to Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investment for $254 million. AIG Private Bank, based in Swtizerland, is to cut up to 30 per cent of its total workforce.

AIG, once the world's biggest insurer by market value, averted bankruptcy in September with an $85 billion federal bailout. The rescue later swelled to about $152 billion.