Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) have agreed to terminate their proposed USD 30bn merger following an “impasse” with the US Department of Justice.

This will end litigation with the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The proposed combination was first announced on 9 March 2020 and earlier this month the deal had been approved by the European Commission.

As a result of the termination of the business combination agreement, Aon will pay the USD 1bn termination fee to WTW.

Aon CEO, 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."

"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," he added.

WTW CEO, John Hanley, stated: "Our team's resilience and commitment are a source of pride and confidence. They have continued to bring to life Willis Towers Watson's compelling value proposition to better serve our clients in the areas of people, risk and capital.

"Going forward, our focus remains steadfast on our colleagues, our clients and our shareholders. We believe we are well-positioned to compete vigorously across our businesses around the world and will continue to introduce important innovations to the market. We appreciate and deeply respect all the Aon colleagues we got to know through this process."

Both firms will provide further financial updates and outlooks on their respective Q2 2021 earnings calls, which take place on 30 July for Aon and 3 August for WTW.

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