The streets are talking: There’s a new consultant in town (kind of). Six months after announcing their intent to merge, global consulting giants Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt have completed the union, my friends down the hall at EBA reported this morning.
Following the Dec. 18, 2009, shareholder approval and receipt of regulatory authorizations, Watson Wyatt CEO John Haley will now lead the newly formed Towers Watson & Co. as chairman and CEO, while Towers Perrin CEO Mark Mactas will serve as deputy chairman, president and COO.
Towers Watson Class A common stock is now listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TW. Based on the Dec. 31, 2009 closing price of discontinued Watson Wyatt common stock (WW), the implied value of the transaction is $4 billion.
The new firm will be headquartered in New York City. “Towers Watson builds on shared values of integrity, professional excellence and collaboration with a strong clients-first orientation,” says Mactas. “With our combined experience, and breadth and depth of skills, we will be able to provide greater insight as we work with our clients and greater opportunities for our people and our shareholders.”
The merger has created a “broader portfolio of services” for clients in an increasingly complex market, says Haley.
That may well be true, and from what I know of both companies when they operated separately, it very likely will be the case. Still, you pros know better than I how messy mergers and acquisitions can get. There’s much to be done before things are clicking like a well oiled machine over at the new TW — at a time when employers need operations (particularly benefits) to run as smoothly as humanly possible.
If your company worked with Watson Wyatt or Towers Perrin, are you concerned about any changes or hiccups to the service you’ve come to expect? Why or why not?
