By Isabella Steger

Bloomberg

American International Group Inc.’s sale of its Taiwan life insurance unit Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. is finally drawing to an end, but one person may have found himself on the wrong end of the deal.

Citigroup Inc. advised the winning consortium, Ruen Chen Investment Holdings Ltd., which comprises Ruentex Development Co., Ruentex Industries Ltd. and Pou Chen Corp and won with a US$2.16 billion bid.

One of the failed bidders is a consortium that includes Hong Kong-based Primus Financial Holdings Ltd., whose bid for Nan Shan last August with Hong Kong-listed China Strategic Holdings Ltd. was rejected by Taiwanese regulators. Primus is headed by Robert Morse, Citi’s former head of global investment banking and head of the institutional client’s group in Asia until 2008.