Willis Acquires Remaining Shares in Danish Sub

Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings announced that it has acquired the remaining shares of Willis A/S in Denmark that it did not already own.

The move is the second major acquisition Willis has made in the Nordic broker market in the last 10 days. Last week it announced the acquisition of a leading Danish reinsurance broker, Kirecon A/S, based in Copenhagen (See IJ Website Jan.14).

Willis had acquired a 30 percent stake in Assurandoergruppen in 1998, and subsequently renamed it, Willis A/S. It has now bought the remaining 70 percent of the company, which had been held by the management and partners within the business.

“Willis A/S is Denmark’s largest insurance broker; with some 300 people it is twice the size of its nearest competitor,” said the announcement. “Headquartered in Copenhagen with offices in Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense, it provides general insurance, risk management and pensions and benefit services to a broad range of companies and organizations in Denmark.”

Willis Chairman and CEO Joe Plumeri commented: “Our international business has grown strongly in recent years and we have ambitious plans for its continued development. As part of our growth strategy we seek where possible to acquire full or majority control of our international business associates. The Willis A/S team has done a great job to expand the business and we look forward to its further development as it becomes integrated with — and has full access to — Willis’ global resources and systems.”