The respective shareholders of global insurance and reinsurance brokers, Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW), have voted FOR all proposals surrounding the combination of the two companies.
The shareholders of both brokers confirmed their approval of the proposed combination at their respective extraordinary general meetings and at the special meeting of WTW shareholders ordered by the High Court of Ireland.
Aon confirmed that it will combine with rival broker WTW back in March after weeks of speculation, in an all-stock transaction with an implied combined equity value of approximately $80 billion.
The combination of the pair remains subject to customary regulatory and other closing conditions, and is expected to complete in the first half of next year. Once the deal closes, WTW shareholders will receive 1.08 Aon shares for each WTW share they held immediately prior to closing.
The approval from shareholders comes a couple of weeks after the deal was recommended by two proxy advisory firms. Prior to this, both Aon and WTW disclosed some additional details associated with the deal in order to ward off legal challenges.
Greg Case, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aon, commented: “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.
“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 events of 2020 are illustrative of the exact type of transformative long-tail risk our new organization will be best positioned to address, creating significant value for clients, colleagues, and shareholders.”
John Haley, CEO of WTW, added: “Today marks an important milestone towards completing the transaction. The vote reflects our shareholders’ confidence in this next step of our journey. We are pleased with the outcome of today’s meetings and we thank all of our shareholders for their support of this combination that will bring together our complementary strengths and expand our capacity to address unmet client need.”
