Jobs at risk in insurance firm takeover

UK INSURANCE broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) is being snapped up by Marsh & McLennan in a £4.3bn deal, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

The recommended all-cash deal will see JLT shareholders offered £19.15 per share, representing a 33.7 per cent premium on its closing price on September 17.

The deal values the entirety of JLT at around £4.9bn.

Marsh & McLennan Companies MMC plans to maintain its headquarters in New York, and while there may be plans to combine certain offices and functions, it “expects to have an even larger presence in London and the UK more broadly”.

But overlap between the two firms could result in up to 3,750 job losses across the combined business.

An initial review identified some likely duplication between the two firms “particularly in functional support areas, and plans to take a “best of both” approach to the integration.

“MMC’s preliminary evaluation suggests that MMC is expected to achieve synergies of approximately $250m (£190m) within three years of completion of the acquisition, a substantial portion of which could come from headcount reductions in addition to savings in real estate, IT, outside services and other initiatives,” the market announcement explained.

It said job cuts could impact roles across functional support areas such as finance, human resources, IT, operations, legal and administrative support staff.