Aon Corp. (AON), the world’s largest insurance broker, dropped the most in more than a year after agreeing to buy human resources outsourcing co. Hewitt Associates Inc. (HEW) for $4.9 billion in cash and stock. The purchase, which represents a 40% premium to Hewitt Friday’s closing price, valuing the stock at $50 a share, is Aon’s biggest, surpassing its $1.4 billion acquisition of reinsurance broker Benfield Group Ltd. in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Aon fell $3.14, or 8.19%, to $35.19 at 11:32 a.m. in NYSE trading. Hewitt Associates Inc. surged 33% to $47.42 for the biggest gain in the Russell 1000 Index.
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