Aon will not buy Willis Towers Watson

Re/insurance broker Aon has said it will not buy Willis Towers Watson. Its announcement comes within 24 hours of it revealing it was exploring a possible deal with the world’s third biggest broker.

The company has effectively said it was forced to admit that very early stage talks had taken place because of media speculation combined with the fact that Willis is bound by Irish regulatory requirements.

In a statement, Aon said: “Consistent with Aon's stated focus on return on invested capital the firm regularly evaluates a variety of potential opportunities within and adjacent to its industry.

“Aon had considered such a possibility with regard to Willis Towers Watson. News of that consideration subsequently became public and Aon was required to issue a statement because Willis Towers Watson is an Irish company and is subject to Irish regulatory requirements.

“As a result of media speculation, those regulations required Aon to make the disclosure at a very early stage in the consideration of a potential all-share business combination. Aon today confirms that it does not intend to pursue this business combination.

“As a result of this announcement, Aon is bound by the restrictions set out in Rule 2.8 of the Irish Takeover Rules. Aon reserves the right within the next 12 months to set aside this announcement where so permitted under Rule 2.8 (including Rule 2.8(c)(ii)).”

Aon said yesterday (Tuesday March 5) that a takeover of its competitor WTW, the third largest insurance broker, was under consideration in a statement as per Irish regulatory requirements after media speculation initially broke the story.

Shares in WTW rose by more than 8 percent following initial reports of the bid in the media.

Aon did state at the time, however, that any deal was “in the early stages” and there “can be no certainty that any transaction will take place nor as to the form or terms on which any transaction might be pursued”.