Willis Completes Acquisition Of Argentina Brokerage

NU Online News Service, Sept. 29, 12:14 p.m. EDT

Willis Group Holdings Ltd. said it has completed its acquisition of Herzfeld Willis S.A. (retail operation) and Willis S.A. (reinsurance operation) in Argentina. Terms of the deal were not released.

The London-headquartered insurance brokerage firm said the acquired operation will be renamed Willis Argentina S.A.

Willis said it established a presence in Argentina in 1999 by acquiring 20 percent of Herzfeld & Levy, a leading national insurance broker, to become Herzfeld Willis. It also set up Willis S.A., a reinsurance company in which the group took a 60 percent stake, with the remaining 40 percent owned by two private individual investors.

In 2000, Willis acquired a further 20 percent stake in Herzfeld Willis, and then in 2004 became the majority shareholder of Herzfeld Willis by acquiring a further 20 percent stake to move to an overall 60 percent holding.

The latest transaction sees Willis increase its stake to 100 percent in both the retail and the reinsurance operations.

Willis said Willis Argentina has 130 associates located in its office in Buenos Aires. All told, the broker said it has 26 offices throughout Latin America in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

Eugenio Paschoal, chief executive officer for Willis Latin America, said in a statement, "We have taken full ownership of Willis Argentina because we see excellent growth prospects in this country and are committed to becoming the leading broker there."

He added that the firm has "ambitious expansion plans for Latin America as a whole and a strong foothold in Argentina will help us maintain the double-digit growth momentum that we have built up in the region."

Fabiana Scalone, CEO of Willis Argentina S.A., added, "Together with Willis, we have developed a dynamic hub of insurance and reinsurance broking expertise in Argentina. By coming fully under the Willis umbrella, we believe that our clients will continue to benefit from high-touch local service, backed by the extensive global resources and expertise of one of the world's leading broker power houses."

Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 20,000 associates serving clients in some 190 countries.