AIG sells its stake in United Guaranty

AIG in January announced its plan to spin off United Guaranty amid pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn, who has called for AIG to be split into three separate companies.

Icahn has argued that AIG is "too big to succeed," playing on the phrase "too big to fail," a label put on the company during the financial crisis.

The government said it was forced to prevent the total collapse of AIG at the height of the crisis in 2008 because it was reasoned that its demise would have a cascading effect, threatening the global financial system.