Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) is advising Aon plc (‘Aon’) on the sale of Willis Re and a set of Willis Towers Watson (‘WTW’) corporate risk and broking and health and benefits services to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co (‘Gallagher’).
These businesses will be divested for a total consideration of US$3.57bn. The agreement resolves questions raised by the European Commission and is intended to address certain questions raised by regulators in certain other jurisdictions. Aon and Willis Towers Watson continue to work toward obtaining additional regulatory approval in all relevant jurisdictions, including the United States, where regulators are conducting an independent review of the Aon and WTW combination.
“This agreement demonstrates strong momentum on the path to close our proposed combination with Willis Towers Watson,” said Greg Case, Aon’s CEO. “We’ve used this time to align our future leadership team around a one-firm culture that will create new opportunities for colleagues, accelerate innovation on behalf of clients and deliver shareholders the long-term value creation they have come to expect from our team.”
The Freshfields team working with Aon General Counsel Darren Zeidel, VP & Global Chief Counsel Julie Cho and Chief Antitrust Counsel Elise Kirban and their team was led by: global transactions partners Julian Long, James Smethurst and George Swan; people and reward partner Andrew Murphy; and antitrust partners Martin McElwee, Laurent Garzaniti and Jennifer Mellott.
