Aon Affinity agrees to acquire Access Plans

Aon Risk Solutions' Aon Affinity unit announced Monday today it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Access Plans.

Hatboro, Pa.-based Aon Affinity specializes in providing custom insurance and risk management programs to more than 200 major professional associations and corporations, serving 16.5 million individual customers. Access Plans, which has offices in Norman, Okla., and Irving, Texas, is a marketing company specializing in turnkey, private-label membership benefit plans that provide discount products and services, protection benefits and retail services to more than one million customers in the United States and Canada.

Under the terms of the agreement, Aon Affinity will acquire all of the outstanding shares of and options to acquire Access Plans common stock for an aggregate consideration of approximately $70.1 million in cash, subject to downward adjustment to the extent that the amount of cash held by Access Plans at closing, net of indebtedness, transaction costs and certain other expenses, is less than $15 million.

Aon said Access Plans is the nation's largest membership plan provider in the specialty rent-to-own market space. “The company bundles a broad range of non-insurance products and services - from discounted medical, dental, vision and pharmacy services to groceries, restaurant meals and hotel rooms,” said Aon. “These plans are sold to consumers primarily through more than 300 retail and rent-to-own businesses. Access Plans recently divested its insurance marketing division. As a part of Aon Affinity, Access Plans is expected to add approximately $18 million of revenue to Aon's financials.”

The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2012 and is subject to various closing conditions.