04 January 2010
Published in: Corporate strategy
$4bn merger creates Towers Watson
Completion of the merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt to form Towers Watson & Co was announced on 3 January.
Watson Wyatt CEO John Haley will serve as Towers Watson's chairman and CEO; Towers Perrin CEO Mark Mactas will serve as deputy chairman, president and chief operating officer.
The merger, originally announced on 28 June 2009, follows receipt of all necessary regulatory authorizations and approval of the transaction by the companies' respective shareholders on 18 December 2009. Towers Watson's Class A common stock will be listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ from today, 4 January 2010. Based on the closing price of Watson Wyatt common stock on 31 December 2009, the implied value of the transaction is $4bn.
Towers Watson said it is to pay $200m in cash and issue one-year promissory notes in an aggregate principal amount of $200m to certain former Towers Perrin shareholders who have voluntarily elected to terminate their employment with Towers Watson.
Towers Watson is also to divest its VIPitech life insurance actuarial software business, inherited from Watson Wyatt, as part of a deal struck with the European Commission competition authority, which was apparently concerned about the merged firm owning both VIPitech and MoSes, the comparable Towers Perrin business (see IERM, Software, 4 December, Watson Wyatt to sell off VIPitech).
As well as risk and capital management, Towers Watson offers services in employee benefits, talent management and rewards. Headquartered in New York City, Towers Watson has 14,000 associates around the world.