Aon and Willis Towers Watson have mutually agreed to end their proposed acquisition following an “impasse” with the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The business combination was announced in March 2020 between Aon, a risk, retirement and health solutions provider, and Willis Towers Watson, an advisory, broking and solutions firm. The proposed acquisition would have merged two of the three largest global insurance brokers, with an implied combined equity value of around $80 billion. Although the European Commission conditionally approved the acquisition under divestment conditions of the EU Merger Regulation, last month the DOJ filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against the acquisition on the grounds that it would jeopardise industry competition, increase prices and weaken innovation. This suit was said to have created a non-negotiable “impasse” that made it impossible for the acquisition to go ahead. Greg Case, CEO of Aon, explains: “Despite regulatory momentum around the world, including the recent approval of our combination by the European Commission, we reached an impasse with the DOJ.” “The DOJ position overlooks that our complementary businesses operate across broad, competitive areas of the economy. We are confident that the combination would have accelerated our shared ability to innovate on behalf of clients, but the inability to secure an expedited resolution of the litigation brought us to this point.” John Haley, CEO of Willis Towers Watson, adds: “Going forward, we are well-positioned to compete vigorously across our businesses around the world and will continue to introduce important innovations to the market. We appreciate all the Aon colleagues we got to know through this process.” Aon will pay Willis Towers Watson a termination fee of $1 billion, following which both firms will move forward independently.
