--- description: Combined company will be worth $18 billion. title: Willis Group to Merge With Towers Watson image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75327f329efa35a7/69885913f887dc1ecbe912a1/willis-tower.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [M&A](/tag/ma/) ## M&A Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Willis Group to Merge With Towers Watson by [Claire Groden / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Claire Groden / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2015 1:13 PM CUT  The Willis Tower sign. The Willis Tower sign.Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Claire Groden / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Claire Groden / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2015 1:13 PM CUT Willis Group Holdings, an insurance broker and risk advisory firm, and professional services group Towers Watson, announced Tuesday they plan to merge. The combined company, Willis Towers Watson, will be worth $18 billion, taking in about $8.2 billion in revenue, according to [_The Wall Street Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/willis-group-towers-watson-to-merge-in-18-billion-deal-1435649451 "undefined"). The Ireland-based company is expected to achieve over $100 million in cost-savings on account of the merger. The Towers Watson Chairman and CEO, John Haley, will remain CEO, and Willis Group Holdings CEO Dominic Casserley will be president and deputy CEO. “These are two companies with world-class brands and shared values. The rationale for the merger is powerful – at one stroke, the combination fast-tracks each company’s growth strategy and offers a truly compelling value proposition to our clients,” said Casserley in a [press release](http://investors.willis.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=129857&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2063487 "undefined"). “We will advise over 80% of the world’s top-1000 companies, as well as having a significant presence with mid-market and smaller employers around the world,” he added. ### See How Tech CEOs Spend Their Money  Steve Jobs The Apple CEO's super yacht Venus was designed by Philippe Starck's design company Ubik. Jobs spent approximately $131 million on it but passed away in 2011 before it was completed. Ed Oudenaarden—AFP/Getty Images  Steve Ballmer In 2014, former Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer spent $2 billion to become the owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Jeff Gross—Getty Images  Larry Ellison Outgoing Oracle CEO Larry Ellison owns 98% of the 141-square-mile Hawaiian island of Lanai, which he bought for an undisclosed price. He is turning it into a "model for sustainable enterprise," he's said, though details remain sketchy. NASA/Reuters  Larry Page and Sergey Brin Google CEO Larry Page and co-founder Sergey Brin have been attending the Burning Man Arts Festival since the company's early days. There they fund a "theme camp" and how exactly the funds are used is left up to participants' imaginations. Jim Urquhart—Reuters  Bill Gates The former Microsoft CEO is currently the richest man in the world, according to Bloomberg. Since 2000, Gates and his wife have been running the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In total it has issued grants adding up to over $30 billion. Pius Utomi Ekpei—AFP/Getty Images  Elon Musk PayPal Co-Founder Elon Musk (in driver's seat) began as a Series A investor in 2004 and is now the CEO and chief product architect of Tesla Motors. The company created the first mass-produced, highway-capable electric car and is valued at over $18 billion. Robyn Beck—AFP/Getty Images  Richard Branson Founder of Virgin Group, comprised of more than 400 companies, Branson has invested heavily in spaceship tourism with the SpaceShipTwo vehicle . David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Mark Zuckerberg To ensure his privacy, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg bought four of his neighboring houses in 2013 for an estimated $30 million-plus in Palo Alto, California. Noah Berger—Bloomberg/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3941296/willis-group-towers-watson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3941296/willis-group-towers-watson/"},"headline":"Willis Group to Merge With Towers Watson","datePublished":"2015-06-30T13:13:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:42.981Z","description":"Combined company will be worth $18 billion","url":"https://time.com/3941296/willis-group-towers-watson/","keywords":["M&A","deals","merger","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75327f329efa35a7/69885913f887dc1ecbe912a1/willis-tower.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Claire Groden / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75327f329efa35a7/69885913f887dc1ecbe912a1/willis-tower.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Iconic Sears Tower Changes Name To Willis Tower","caption":"Iconic Sears Tower Changes Name To Willis Tower","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ma/","name":"M&A"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3941296/willis-group-towers-watson/","name":"Willis Group to Merge With Towers Watson"}}]}] ```