Willis Corroon Expands Danish Benefits Interest, Merges Operations

Willis Corroon Group PLC has signed an agreement to acquire a 30 percent equity interest in the leading Danish insurance broker and employee benefits consultant, Assurandorgruppen. Assurandorgruppen will be merged with Willis Corroon A/S, the Danish subsidiary in which Willis Corroon already holds an 85 percent interest. Assurandorgruppen is the largest insurance broking firm in Denmark, employing 115 people in four offices.

The combined business will be named Willis Corroon Assurandorgruppen.

John Reeve, executive chairman of the Group, says, "We are very pleased to have reached this agreement whereby Assurandorgruppen will join the Willis Corroon family as part of our rapidly expanding international network. This investment consolidates our position in Scandinavia, where, both in retail insurance broking and through our global specialty businesses, we have already built a strong position, and further develops the global distribution platform, which is a key part of our strategy."

The agreement allows Willis Corroon to increase its holding over time to an eventual majority position. Completion of the deal, which is subject to satisfactory due diligence, should take place before the end of August.

"We have now firmly established our position of leadership in insurance broking throughout Western Europe, ranked among the top three brokers in each of the major economies in the region," says Reeve. "This enables us to bring to our clients, whether national, regional or global, seamless service of the highest professionalism and quality."