Aoun and Willis Towers ditch a $30 billion merger amid antitrust crisis

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Aon PLC and Willis Towers Watson PLC gave up more than $30 billion to create the world’s largest insurance broker, deciding it wasn’t worth pursuing in the face of Justice Department opposition to the merger.

The Justice Department sued the deal last month, the first major test of the Biden administration’s more aggressive antitrust policy. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, argued that the proposed merger would raise prices and reduce innovation for US companies, employers and unions that depend on their services.

The brokerages, which announced their deal in March 2020, help companies purchase insurance and advise them on risk management. Both companies are also key corporate advisors on health and other benefit packages for their employees.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit followed an investigation that lasted more than a year. Aon and Willis Towers have already sold assets to smaller competitors to placate the antitrust authority by creating new and larger competitors, but to no avail.

“We’ve hit an impasse with the US Department of Justice,” Aon CEO Greg Case said Monday.

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