Willis buys 100% of Argentina brokers

Willis Group Holdings has completed the purchase of 100% of the share capital of Argentinean businesses Herzfeld Willis S A and Willis S A, a reinsurance operation. The business will be renamed as a single unit: Willis Argentina S.A. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Willis first entered Argentina’s broking market in 1999 when it acquired 20% of Herzfeld & Levy, which later became Herzfeld Willis. Willis also established Willis S A with a 60% stake, with the remaining 40% owned by two private individual investors. In 2000, Willis acquired a further 20% stake in Herzfeld Willis and then in 2004, it became the majority shareholder of Herzfeld Willis by acquiring a further 20% stake to increase its total shareholding to 60%. Eugenio Paschoal, chief executive officer for Willis Latin America, said it is positive about Argentina: “We have taken full ownership of Willis Argentina because we see excellent growth prospects in this country and are committed to becoming the leading broker there. We have ambitious expansion plans for Latin America as a whole and a strong foothold in Argentina will help us maintain the double-digit growth momentum that we have built up in the region.”