Aon acquisition of Willis Towers Watson : Aon has signed an all-stock deal worth around $30 billion to acquire Willis Towers Watson in what will be one of the biggest insurance acquisitions ever.

The Aon, Willis Towers Watson merger is set to create the largest insurance broker in the world with an implied combined equity value of about $80 billion.

The combined insurance broker will operate as a premier, technology-enabled global professional services firm under the name Aon, which will be focused on the areas of risk, health, and retirement. Aon’s operating headquarters will be in London.

The UK-based Aon is a global professional services company that offers a wide range of risk, health, and retirement solutions. The company has a workforce of about 50,000 across 120 countries to help its clients with its data and analytics to create insights to cut down volatility and boost performance.

Willis Towers Watson, which is also based in the UK, is a global advisory, broking, and solutions firm that offers solutions to manage risk, optimize benefits, nurture talent and grow the power of capital to protect and strengthen individuals and institutions.

The company has 45,000 plus employees and serves clients across 140 plus countries.

Greg Case – Aon CEO, commenting on Aon acquisition of Willis Towers Watson, said: “This combination will create a more innovative platform capable of delivering better outcomes for all stakeholders, including clients, colleagues, partners and investors.

“Our world-class expertise across risk, retirement and health will accelerate the creation of new solutions that more efficiently match capital with unmet client needs in high-growth areas like cyber, delegated investments, intellectual property, climate risk and health solutions.”

As per the terms of the deal, Willis Towers Watson’s shareholders will exchange each of their shares for 1.08 Aon’s shares. Post-merger, existing Aon’s shareholders will own nearly 63% while existing Willis Towers Watson’s shareholders will own about 37%.

Commenting on Aon acquisition of Willis Towers Watson, John Haley – Willis Towers Watson CEO, said: “The combination of Willis Towers Watson and Aon is a natural next step in our journey to better serve our clients in the areas of people, risk and capital.

“This transaction accelerates that journey by providing our combined teams the opportunity to drive innovation more quickly and deliver more value.”

The Aon, Willis Towers Watson merger, which is subject to the approval of the shareholders of the two companies, required regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions, is expected to be wrapped up in the first half of 2021.

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