Insurance broker Aon said it will sell some assets to private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners and tech firm Alight for $1.4 billion, in a bid to get U.S. Department of Justice approval for its merger with Willis Towers Watson.
The deal includes selling Aon’s U.S. retirement business and its retiree health exchange business, the company said on Thursday.
The move comes after London-based Aon and Willis last month agreed to sell some assets to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co for $3.57 billion, to win EU antitrust approval for their merger that will create the world’s No. 1 insurance broker.
Aon and Willis’ proposed deal, the insurance sector’s largest ever, unifies the second and third largest brokers globally into a company worth more than $90 billion, overtaking market leader Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc.
It comes at a time insurers are facing rising claims and new threats from the global outbreak of coronavirus and climate change.
Aon and Willis put together insurance contracts for clients that involve a number of insurance providers, for anything from airlines to large sporting events.
The brokers said they were working to get additional regulatory approval in all relevant jurisdictions.
Source: Reuters.com