Gallagher-Willis $3.25bn acquisition deal cleared by UK competition watchdog

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has closed its probe and cleared  Arthur J Gallagher’s planned $3.25 billion acquisition of  Willis Towers Watson’s reinsurance business  Willis Re.

The UK’s anti-trust regulator launched the investigation into the acquisition of Willis Towers Watson’s treaty reinsurance following the announcement of a deal in August for $3.25 billion plus an earnout payable in 2025 of up to $750 million in cash. That deal itself followed the collapse of an earlier agreement to acquire WTW assets following the failure of the proposed merger between Aon and WTW.

Following the August announcement, the CMA initiated an investigation on October 5, stating that “The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services”.

On Monday, the CMA announced it had cleared the anticipated acquisition.

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