Willis Towers Watson faces lawsuits connected to Aon deal
The complaints allege that Willis issued a 'materially misleading proxy statement' to shareholders surrounding its proposed Aon merger.
Willis Towers Watson is facing a new class-action lawsuit in connection with its proposed merger with Aon, marking the third legal action against the company in the past month.
The suit, filed June 5 by Halper Sadeh LLP on behalf of Willis shareholders, alleges that Willis violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 when it issued a materially misleading proxy statement recommending shareholders vote in favor of the Aon merger.
Back in March, Aon agreed to purchase Willis in an almost $30 billion all-stock transaction.
According to the complaint, the statement issued by Willis contained ”incomplete and misleading information concerning, among other things, Willis Towers’, Aon’s, and the combined company’s financial projections and the analyses performed by Willis Towers’ financial advisor.”
The Halper Sadeh complaint is the second class-action, and the third lawsuit filed against Willis concerning the Aon deal — Faruqi & Faruqi LLP filed a class-action suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in May.
Last month, a suit pursuing claims against Willis and members of its board of directors was also filed in New York Southern District Court on behalf of stockholder Shiva Stein.
Among its grievances, the Stein action seeks to “enjoin [Willis] from taking any steps to consummate the [proposed transaction with Aon] unless and until the [material information] is disclosed to Willis Tower Watson’s stockholders or, in the event the proposed transaction is consummated, to recover damages resulting from the defendants’ violations of the Exchange Act.”
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