Marsh & McLennan Companies' chief executive indicated there are no plans to break up the company--emphasizing it is more powerful together than apart--but he said nothing to dampen press speculation about the sale of Kroll.
Brian Duperreault, president and chief executive officer of MMC, the New York-based professional services firm, and parent company to insurance broker Marsh and reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter, made the remarks during the company's annual shareholders' meeting today.
In response to a stockholder's question regarding the viability of keeping the company together or leaving only the insurance brokerage portion, Mr. Duperreault said when he came into the company in 2008 he had no opinion about whether the company should remain as it is, or if some of the segments should be sold off.
In addition to Marsh and Guy Carpenter, MMC consists of its consulting services--Mercer and Oliver Wyman--and its risk consulting and technology services subsidiary Kroll.
Mr. Duperrault said, "Every one of these brands are all great companies in their own right; the question is, is there some value in the combination from a joint management point of view?"
He added, "I have come to the conclusion that this can be an elite company, and it will be an elite company, because these companies are together and not apart. I don't think that their future individually would be as rosy as it would be in combination."
He said his plan is to continue with the company together "and I think we can create an amazing organization in its combination."
However, Mr. Duperreault said nothing to squelch speculation in the press that MMC is looking for a buyer of Kroll, saying the meeting was not the place to get into a discussion about that subsidiary's future (see NU Online News Service, March 9: http://bit.ly/8ZdOkP).
In a speech to the stockholders, Mr. Duperreault said to grow in the future, MMC will rely on a combination of organic growth and acquisition within its operating segments.
He said while there is a strong strategic design to use both organic growth and acquisition to grow Marsh--noting the opportunities available in the middle market segment with Marsh & McLennan Agencies--the other operating segments will concentrate on organic growth, "supplemented with acquisitions where appropriate."
At the meeting, the board declared a quarterly dividend of 20 cents a share payable on Aug. 16 to shareholders of record as of July 9.
A rebroadcast of the meeting is available at the company's website at www.mmc.com.
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