Competition watchdog wants feedback on Aon-Willis Towers Watson merger

THE Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) is extending an invitation to the public to give feedback on the proposed merger of global professional-service firms Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW).

Singapore's competition watchdog seeks to assess whether the proposed merger would infringe Section 54 of the Competition Act, which prohibits mergers that have resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition within any market in Singapore.

The proposed transaction involves a merger of Aon and WTW in an all-stock transaction and will be implemented by a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Irish law in accordance with the terms of a Business Combination Agreement signed on March 9 last year. After the merger, Aon will acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of WTW in exchange for shares of Aon.

Aon and WTW, which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ respectively, both provide professional services. They overlap in some services provided, a statement from CCCS said on Friday. These are the provision of retirement benefits and human capital consulting services.

The relevant markets of these services are: supply of retirement benefits consulting services in Singapore or potentially in the region, and the global supply of human capital consulting services.

Aon said that the proposed merger will not result in a substantial reduction of competition. Reasons it has given include the presence of established existing competitors in Singapore that will continue to exert competitive pressure, and low barriers to entering the market, given that there are no capacity constraints in providing human capital consulting services.

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CCCS is open to public feedback on the transaction between April 9 and 2pm on April 16.