AIG shifts asbestos claims to Berkshire unit

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - American International Group Inc's <AIG.N> Chartis unit will transfer the bulk of its asbestos liabilities to Berkshire Hathaway Inc's <BRKa.N> National Indemnity Co, AIG said on Wednesday.

AIG's global property casualty unit will cede up to $3.5 billion in potential asbestos claims to National Indemnity under a retroactive reinsurance deal.

Chartis will pay $1.65 billion as part of the deal, which it said will result in a deferred pretax gain of $200 million in the second quarter of 2011.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)