Towers Watson Completes Acquisition of EMB

Acquisition offers insurers a broad range of integrated analytics, consulting and risk transfer solutions.

LONDON & NEW YORK--()--Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ:TW), a leading global professional services company, has completed the acquisition of EMB, a non-life consulting and software company, having satisfied customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The transaction, which was announced on November 9, 2010, will result in the formation of the largest non-life actuarial consultancy in Europe and one of the largest in the world. EMB will now become part of Towers Watson’s global Risk Consulting and Software business through the transfer of staff, physical assets, software and intellectual property. As part of the acquisition EMB partners will also become Towers Watson employees, with several filling management roles.

Patricia L. Guinn, global leader of Towers Watson’s Risk and Financial Services segment, said: “We are delighted to be able to combine EMB with our risk consulting and software services to offer a much broader range of non-life consulting, software and risk transfer solutions to clients. This will help them address business performance, pricing and distribution, reserving, capital management and enterprise risk management.”

Rory O’Brien, formerly managing partner of EMB, said: “Our clients will find the same advantages plus the broader and deeper resources of a global consulting firm as well as access to risk transfer and other solutions. Linking up with Towers Watson in this way will provide clients with the support and the backing that makes it possible to develop software and consulting solutions at an accelerated pace, while preserving continuity of services.”

Rory O'Brien will lead Towers Watson’s Insurance Management Consulting practice.

The acquisition is expected to be slightly dilutive to Towers Watson's adjusted diluted earnings per share in fiscal 2011 but does not change the company’s financial expectations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011.

Notes to editors

  • Towers Watson advises more than three-quarters of the world's top insurers and is the fourth-largest reinsurance broker. Its software portfolio includes RiskAgility, MoSes, Simulum and Pretium and has over 400 software clients.
  • EMB was founded in 1993 in the U.K. as the first actuarial consultancy dedicated to non-life insurance and the development of high-performance actuarial software and advised 28 of the top 30 non-life insurance companies in the world. At the time of the acquisition, it had over 300 employees and software products that include EMB Igloo, EMB Emblem, EMB ResQ, which are licensed to 4,000 users in 53 countries.

About Towers Watson

Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) is a leading global professional services company that helps organisations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. The company offers solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. Towers Watson has 14,000 associates around the world and is located on the web at www.towerswatson.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements and other forward-looking statements in this document by words such as "may," "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "plan," "intend," "continue," or similar words, expressions or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Towers Watson's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: the risk that the Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt businesses will not be integrated successfully; the risk that anticipated cost savings and any other synergies from the merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the ability to successfully make and integrate profitable acquisitions; the risk that the recently announced acquisitions of EMB or Aliquant Corporation are not profitable or are not otherwise successfully integrated; the ability to successfully address issues surrounding the number of company shares that will become freely tradable on January 1, 2012; the ability to respond to rapid technological changes; the ability to recruit and retain qualified employees, particularly given the company’s recent changes in employee compensation plans; and to retain client relationships, particularly in the executive compensation business, given recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulatory actions; and the risk that a significant or prolonged economic downturn could have a material adverse effect on Towers Watson's business, financial condition and results of operations. Additional risks and factors are identified under "Risk Factors" in Towers Watson's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on September 7, 2010 with the SEC.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events because these statements are based on assumptions that may not come true and are speculative by their nature. Towers Watson does not undertake an obligation to update any of the forward-looking information included in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed expectations or otherwise.

Contacts

Towers Watson
Paul Deane-Williams, +44(0)1737274397
paul.deane-williams@towerswatson.com
or
U.S.:
Michael McNamara, +1-212-309-3669
michael.mcnamara@towerswatson.com

Contacts

Towers Watson
Paul Deane-Williams, +44(0)1737274397
paul.deane-williams@towerswatson.com
or
U.S.:
Michael McNamara, +1-212-309-3669
michael.mcnamara@towerswatson.com