Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, has said that re/insurance broker Aon’s proposed $30 billion combination with Willis Towers Watson (WTW) is expected to gain EU antitrust approval later in June or in early July.
It looks as though the remedy package Aon submitted to the European Commission (EC) is sufficient to satisfy EU competition concerns surrounding the broker’s mega-merger with rival WTW.
Sources told Reuters back in April that Aon would gain conditional EU antitrust approval for its pending merger with WTW without having to propose additional concessions.
After pushing back its deadline, the EC is scheduled to decide on the deal by August 3rd, 2021.
In May, the pair announced an agreement to sell Willis Re and a number of other WTW assets to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for £3.57 billion, as part of its package of divestments.
More recently, in early June, Aon announced that its US retirement business will be sold to Aquiline, while its Aon Retiree Health Exchange business will be acquired by Alight.
This most recent divestiture is a move designed explicitly to appease the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and ensure the Aon/WTW combination receives U.S. regulatory approval.
Of course, there are other antitrust and competitions authorities to consider still, including in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, as well as likely some others.
