Aon to sell U.S. retirement business

Aquiline is buying the unit, while Alight Solutions is buying Aon's Retiree Health Exchange business. The sales are aimed at winning government approval for Aon's merger with Willis Towers Watson.

As part of its moves to win government approval of its merger with Willis Towers Watson, global professional services company Aon is selling its U.S. retirement business to Aquiline Capital Partners and its Aon Retiree Health Exchange business to Alight Solutions for $1.4 billion.

Aon and Willis Towers Watson previously announced the divestiture of Willis Re, a set of Willis Towers Watson corporate risk and broking and health and benefits services, and Aon’s retirement and investment business in Germany.

The U.S. retirement business that Aquiline will acquire includes approximately 1,000 employees and includes U.S. core retirement consulting, U.S. pension administration and the U.S.-based portion of Aon’s international retirement consulting business, along with many solutions and tools. Aquiline Capital Partners is a private equity firm based in New York and London that invests in financial services, technology, business services and healthcare companies.

Alight Solutions, a business process outsourcing multinational company based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, was a division of Aon until Blackstone acquired it in 2017; it went public via a special purpose acquisition company earlier this year.