Aviva sells US insurance arm for £1.1bn to Athene Holding The sale of Aviva USA is an important step forward in the delivery of our strategic plan. It considerably strengthens Aviva's financial position, increases group liquidity and improves our economic capital surplus whilst also reducing its volatility," said Aviva chairman John McFarlane in a statement on Friday. The disposal of the US business, combined with the recent settlement with Bankia [in which the company netted almost £500m in return for its 50pc stake in insurer Aseval], represents a successful end to the year and sets us up well for 2013. The bulk of the deal will be completed in cash, after the repayment of external debt. Of this, an amount of up to $250 may be received in the form of an interest-bearing vendor loan, repayable in cash within 12 months of completion, Aviva said on Friday. Britain's second-biggest insurer is now five months into a restructuring plan aimed at selling 16 underperforming businesses that tie up over a third of its capital and contribute 18pc of operating profit. The overhaul was launched in July by Mr MacFarlane, who took day-to-day charge of the company in May after shareholders irked by its weak stock market performance forced out Mr Moss. Mr McFarlane was believed to have told investors over the summer that under Solvency II, European insurance rules that require companies to hold more capital against assets such as its US business, it no longer mades financial sense to hold on to the asset. Aviva shares were flat at 381.9p in mid-morning trade.