Aon to Acquire Surety and Construction Broker Allied North America

Aon Corp.'s risk management and insurance brokerage business, Aon Risk Services, said it would acquire Allied North America, one of the largest independent surety and construction insurance brokerage firms in the United States. Terms were not disclosed.In a flier to its clients, Aon said the combined firm would place $3 billion in construction-related premium and include 750 employees in 26 offices.The acquisition "reinforces our leadership position in the construction sector and enables us to bring additional talent and skills to the benefit of our clients,” Steve McGill, chairman and chief executive officer of Aon Risk Services, said in a statement.Attempts to reach the company for additional comment were not immediately successful.After the acquisition, Bill Marino, current chairman of Allied, will assume the role of president of Aon’s global construction business and vice chairman of Aon Construction Services Group.This is the latest acquisition for Aon, the No. 1 ranked broker by 2008 brokerage revenue, according to Best's Review's ranking of top global brokers. In October, Aon Corp. announced the acquisition of Carpenter Moore Insurance Services Inc., a provider of executive liability risk management services (BestWire, Oct. 27, 2009).Shares of Aon Corp. (NYSE: AON) were trading at $38.38 a share on Dec. 7, down 0.57% from the previous close.(By Meg Green, senior associate editor, BestWeek: [email protected])