M&A News: AIG, Williams, Access Midstream, Barry Callebaut

Noteworthy expenditures of the week
Photographs by Christie's Images Ltd. 2012 (diamond); Alamy (planes); Dinodia Photos/Getty Images (cocoa bean); Marco Secchi/Getty Images (Koons)

1. A Chinese consortium is paying $4.3 billion for 80.1 percent of American International Group’s plane-leasing unit in a bid to profit from growing air travel in Asia. The acquisition will be China’s biggest ever in the U.S.

2. Oklahoma-based Williams will purchase a $2.4 billion stake in Access Midstream Partners, a tax-free shale pipeline partnership.