Pru purchase

AIG’s board has ap proved the sale of its Asian life insurance arm to British life insurer Pru dential PLC. The Wall Street Journal, citing un named people familiar with the matter, said the deal could be announced as early as today. Pru dential would pay with a mixture of $35.5 billion in cash and stock, it re ported on its Web site. Talks of a deal were first reported by Sky News, which like The Post is owned by News Corp.

Greek drama

European Union Mone tary Affairs Commis sioner Olli Rehn will likely push Greece to do more to cut its budget deficit today as govern ments craft a rescue pack age for the cash-strapped nation. Rehn will meet with Prime Minister George Papandreou as German lawmakers say euro-area officials are de vising a plan to grant Greece about $34 billion in aid should it need help financing its debt.

Drug deal

Merck KgaA of Ger many has agreed to buy Millipore, a Billerica, Mass.-based supplier of drug-development equip ment, in a cash deal val ued at about $7.2 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world’s largest lab in struments maker, based in Waltham, Mass., had previously offered $6 bil lion for Millipore.