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Some good news about the bailout of AIG by the U.S. Government is certainly heartily welcome in the midst of dismal news about job growth, the egregiously slow recovery of the U.S. economy, and the last-ditch-decision by Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman, to pump more cash into the economy to artificially boost it.

American International Group (AIG) announced yesterday the completion of an offering of approximately 636.9 million shares of AIG common stock, par value $2.50 per share (AIG Common Stock) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (U.S. Treasury). The U.S. Treasury received proceeds of approximately $20.7 billion from the sale of AIG Common Stock in the offering.

“Everyone at AIG is deeply proud that we kept our promise to make America whole plus a profit,” said Robert H. Benmosche, AIG President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am proud of the hard work and dedication the people of AIG have demonstrated to reach this milestone, and once again we thank America for the opportunity to prove that we would do the right thing with their money. I believe where we stand today is a testament to the strength of the AIG franchise, to the faith of our employees, customers, partners, and stakeholders, and to America’s ability and willingness to fix problems and emerge stronger from tests of crisis.”

The offering reduced the U.S. Treasury’s remaining investment in AIG to approximately 234.2 million shares of common stock or approximately 15.9 percent of outstanding shares from approximately 53.4 percent. According to U.S. Treasury figures, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have received a combined positive return of approximately $15.1 billion from their overall $182.3 billion commitment to AIG. This profit does not include the U.S. Treasury’s remaining stake in AIG, which if valued at the September 13th 2012, closing price of $34.44 per share, would provide an additional profit of approximately $8.1 billion.

The approximately 636.9 million shares of AIG Common Stock sold in the offering included approximately 153.8 million shares purchased by AIG for an aggregate purchase amount of approximately $5.0 billion, and approximately 83.1 million shares sold pursuant to the exercise in full of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of AIG Common Stock to cover over-allotments, for an aggregate purchase amount of approximately $2.7 billion. Since May 2011, the U.S. Treasury has sold approximately 1.4 billion shares of AIG Common Stock for total proceeds of approximately $44.00 billion, including approximately $13 billion purchases by AIG.