Aon and Willis Towers Watson Merger Moves One Step Closer

The merger of two of the largest broker and professional services firms overcame a significant hurdle in the firms’ efforts to join forces.  

 

Aon and Willis Towers Watson announced Aug. 26 that their respective shareholders voted for all proposals at their respective extraordinary general meetings and at the special meeting of Willis Towers Watson shareholders ordered by the High Court of Ireland. 

 

The two firms announced in March that they plan to merge in a reported $30 billion all-stock transaction, resulting in a combined equity value of approximately $80 billion. 

The combination, which still remains subject to customary regulatory and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the first half of 2021, provide the deal is not held up by any anti-trust issues.

 

Upon the closing of the combination, Willis Towers Watson shareholders will receive 1.08 Aon shares in exchange for each Willis Towers Watson share they held immediately prior to the closing. This, according to the earlier announcement, represents a 16.2% premium to Willis Towers Watson’s closing share price on March 6, 2020.

 

The combined company will be named Aon and will maintain operating headquarters in London. Current Willis Towers Watson CEO John Haley will take on the role of Executive Chairman, while the combined firm will be led by Aon’s CEO Greg Case and Chief Financial Officer Christa Davies.

 

“On behalf of Aon’s Board of Directors and executive team, I would like to thank our shareholders for their overwhelming support of the proposed combination with Willis Towers Watson,” Case said in a statement. “Our combination, which will accelerate innovation and strengthen our capability to provide more relevant solutions for clients, has only become more important through the COVID-19 pandemic.”

 

The combined firm anticipates savings of $267 million in the first full year of the combination, reaching $600 million in the second full year, and a full $800 million in the third year. For fiscal year 2019, the two firms generated revenues of approximately $20 billion and free cash flow of $2.4 billion. Aon currently has 50,000 employees in 120 countries, while Willis Towers Watson has 45,000 employees and services clients in more than 140 countries.