Blackstone to Acquire Aon Unit for Up to $4.8 Billion -<br />LONDON — The Blackstone Group said on Friday that funds affiliated with the private equity giant<br />had agreed to pay up to $4.8 billion to acquire Aon’s human resources outsourcing business.<br />“This transaction sharpens our focus on growing our core professional services capabilities and accelerates our ability to invest in emerging client needs, while ensuring<br />that clients continue to receive the level of service and performance they have come to expect,” said Gregory C. Case, the Aon president and chief executive.<br />“Blackstone sees tremendous opportunity for investing in leading businesses within the technology-enabled<br />services sector, where we believe there is a significant opportunity to accelerate future growth.”<br />Aon acquired the business in 2010 as part of its $4.9 billion takeover of Hewitt Associates.<br />“We are excited to acquire a world-class leader of scale in health, retirement<br />and HR services,” Peter Wallace, a Blackstone senior managing director, said in a news release.
