(Reuters) — Britain's competition watchdog said Monday it will not refer insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s planned $3.25 billion purchase of Willis Towers Watson PLC's treaty reinsurance brokerage business to an in-depth investigation.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it made its decision based on the information currently available to it.
The deal, announced in August, came weeks after Willis and rival Aon PLC called off their $30 billion merger that would have created the world's largest insurance broker following opposition from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Treaty reinsurance involves reinsuring the whole of an insurer's book of business, rather than individual projects or risks.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced Friday that it has agreed to buy Willis Towers Watson PLC’s treaty reinsurance business for a purchase price that could rise to $4 billion.