Aon to buy insurance broker NFP for $13.4 billion
Aon , a global professional services company, announced its plans to buy NFP , a broker and advisor in fields like property, casualty, benefits, wealth management, and retirement planning. NFP is currently backed by Madison Dearborn Partners and HPS Investment Partners. The deal, valued at about $13.4 billion, will be paid by Aon using $7 billion in cash and $6.4 billion in Aon stock.
The purchase of NFP by Aon boosts its role in the expanding middle-market area, offering services in risk, benefits, wealth, and retirement planning. Doug Hammond, NFP’s CEO, will keep leading the company within Aon, reporting to Aon’s president, Eric Andersen.
Founded in 1999 and privately owned, NFP consists of a team of more than 7,700 colleagues.
The news arrives two and a half years after Aon and WTW mutually agreed to terminate their $30 billion merger agreement and end their legal dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The merger, which was first announced on March 9, 2020, had been intended to form the world’s largest insurance broker.
Insiders’ Perspectives
“We have continually evolved our leading capabilities to better serve our clients’ growing needs amidst increasing volatility across the marketplace. The acquisition will advance our relevance to clients, create opportunities for our colleagues and further strengthen our shared cultural values. Doug and NFP have built an exceptional team, with a complementary one-firm mindset, and we expect to both learn from their entrepreneurial culture and share with them the depth and breadth of our capabilities to create more value for clients, colleagues and shareholders.” – Greg Case, CEO of Aon.
“This is an exciting milestone in NFP’s evolution that reflects the tremendous quality of the business we’ve built and the exceptional people who drive our success. Aon is an industry leader in delivering Risk Capital and Human Capital capabilities and this acquisition is compelling for many reasons. Our clients will benefit from Aon’s global resources and distribution, while our people will have more opportunities to accelerate the growth of NFP. With aligned values and capabilities across different-sized market segments, we look forward to working with the Aon team to elevate performance and make the transaction successful for everyone involved.” – Doug Hammond, chairman and CEO of NFP.
“NFP has one of the most high-performing leadership teams and cultures that I’ve come across in the marketplace in my 30-plus years in the business. NFP’s team shares our one-firm mindset and commitments to client excellence and growth, and I’m looking forward to working with Doug and all the colleagues at NFP when they join our firm as an Aon company.” – Eric Andersen, president of Aon.
“NFP has exceeded our expectations in every way over the past decade and is well positioned for more growth and impact as part of Aon. NFP’s diversified business, exceptional culture, and consultative approach to helping clients will be an outstanding addition to Aon. MDP is grateful to Scot French and HPS for their partnership as well as Doug, NFP’s management team and colleagues for the value they’ve created and we believe will create in the future as an Aon company.” – Vahe A. Dombalagian, a member of the NFP board and managing director and financial services team co-head for MDP.
“NFP has done an outstanding job of scaling the platform while maintaining a steadfast focus on serving its clients. We believe NFP’s differentiated business model and commitment to clients will be highly complementary with Aon’s platform. We thank Doug and the NFP team, as well as Vahe and MDP, for the extraordinary partnership over the past seven years.” – Scot French, a member of the NFP board and governing partner at HPS Investment Partners.
Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to occur in mid-2024. However, financial metrics are calculated conservatively based on a June 30, 2025, closing date. Aon and NFP will continue to operate independently until the closing date.
