AON/WTW MERGER TARGETS $800M COST SAVING DESPITE ASSET SALES

Aon is maintaining its $800m cost saving target from the proposed merger with Willis Towers Watson (WTW) despite likely having to sell chunks of the business to obtain regulatory clearance. Christa Davies, Aon's chief financial officer, said the firm was still working to close the $30bn tie-up in the first half of the year and had confirmed asset sales to appease competition regulators’ concerns. “We are continuing to work collaboratively with the appropriate regulators to gain approval and have offered remedies. We continue to anticipate $800m cost savings, taking into account the remedies offered,” Davies told analysts. Davies did not elaborate on the nature of the remedies offered. But reports have suggested parts of Willis Towers Watson’s business in Europe, along with Willis Re, will need to be sold off to allay competition concerns.