Willis agrees to buy Israeli broker

Willis Towers Watson PLC said Wednesday it has entered an initial, non-binding agreement to acquire Leaderim, an insurance broking and consultancy business in Israel. 

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Leaderim, with 45 employees, has one office in Tel Aviv and offers a range of commercial coverages in the Israeli market. It also creates multinational risk programs for global companies operating in the country, Willis said in a statement. 

The planned deal comes as Willis looks to move forward after the collapse of its merger with rival brokerage Aon PLC. 

Willis and Leaderim have signed heads of terms and will now move toward completing the acquisition, Willis said. “Any transaction would be subject to completion of definitive agreements, and legal and regulatory approvals,” according to the statement. 

Willis has operated in Israel and other Middle East countries through a network of correspondent partners for many years and has offices in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.