Aon and Willis Towers Watson terminate combination

Insurance broker Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) have terminated their agreement to form a combined entity after reaching an impasse with the US Department of Justice (DOJ). 

Aon and WTW first announced to combine in March, 2020, that would have seen a combined equity value of around US$80 billion ($108.3 billion). 

The two firms would also end litigation with the DOJ, and Aon would pay the US$1 billion termination fee to WTW. 

Aon chief executive, Greg Case, said: “Despite regulatory momentum around the world, including the recent approval of our combination by the European Commission, we reached an impasse with the US Department of Justice. 

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“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." 

"Over the last 16 months, our colleagues have turned potential challenges into opportunities to advance our Aon United strategy. We built on our track record of innovation, continued to deliver industry-leading performance and progress against our key financial metrics and move forward with the strongest colleague engagement and client feedback scores in over a decade. Our respect for Willis Towers Watson and the team members we've come to know through this process has only grown."