About 30 deal-starved investment banks are clamouring to win lucrative advisory roles in the US$5 billion to US$10 billion Hong Kong flotation of life insurer American International Assurance.
Financiers expect AIA to pay its advisers 3.5 per cent of the deal's value, or up to US$350 million if the life insurer raises US$10 billion.
The banks are vying to be named as one of two global co-ordinators of the offering, which is slated for early next year. The winners of these senior roles will scoop up the lion's share of the massive fees.
All the banks have had large teams working around the clock to complete their presentations, which the insurer will receive today. But for nearly all of them, burning the midnight oil trying to convince American International Group to hire them will have been a fruitless effort.
Only one of these lead roles is really up for grabs. US investment bank Morgan Stanley had been unofficially crowned a winner already, sources said.
Investment banks are keen to win senior roles on the deal for more reasons than just the money. Working on a jumbo flotation such as AIA will keep hundreds of staff in work at a time when financial institutions are still being forced to reduce their payrolls.