Aon has agreed to sell its pensions consulting, pension insurance broking, pensions administration and investment consulting business in Germany to Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP), as the global re/insurance broker moves closer to completing its proposed combination with rival Willis Towers Watson (WTW).
This latest divestment comes as the brokerage seeks to satisfy competition concerns in Europe and gain antitrust approval from the European Commission (EC) for its mega-merger with WTW.
Aon says that the definitive agreement to offload its retirement and investment business in Germany resolves questions raised by the EC with respect to markets in which these entities operate.
Greg Case, Aon’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), commented: “This agreement demonstrates further momentum on the path to close our proposed combination with Willis Towers Watson.
“We recognize the significant contributions these colleagues have made on behalf of our clients during their time with Aon. LCP shares with us a culture of innovation and excellence and we know these colleagues have a positive future at LCP.”
For LCP, the acquisition includes 350 colleagues across five offices in Germany, which will be rebranded as LCP once this deal completes.
As well as other customary closing conditions, this transaction is contingent on the completion of the pending Aon and WTW $30 billion combination.
For the full-year 2020, LCP announced record net income of £126.5 million. Following the acquisition, UK domiciled LCP is set to become one of the largest pensions consultancy firms in Germany.
Aaron Punwani, LCP’s CEO, said: “A key part of LCP’s strategy is diversifying the business into different markets with long-term growth potential.
“The German pensions consulting market is the third largest in the world, after the U.S. and the UK, which makes it a natural place for LCP to achieve a leading position, mirroring what we have achieved in the UK in recent years.
“We see a meeting of minds with the knowledgeable and dynamic people who lead the business in Germany. We are truly excited about welcoming this fantastic team as part of LCP and achieving great things together for the benefit of our people and our clients.”
This announcement comes just days after Aon announced the sale of most of Willis Re and certain other WTW assets to Arthur J. Gallagher.
