Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser, today completed its previously agreed acquisition of HSBC Insurance Brokers Limited (HIBL), a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Bank plc.

On 18 December last year, Marsh announced that it would acquire HIBL for a price of £135 million. Concurrent with this transaction, Marsh has entered into an agreement as a Preferred Strategic Partner to HSBC. This provides Marsh with the unique opportunity to provide insurance broking and risk management services to corporate and private clients referred to Marsh by HSBC.

"Our acquisition of HSBC Insurance Brokers extends the breadth of Marsh's international operations in several high growth markets. Clients value not just our global reach, but our ability to amass our global experience and knowledge and deliver it to the client for their individual benefit. The addition of the HSBC team broadens our global footprint and deepens the resources we can bring to bear on behalf of our clients,” said Dan Glaser, CEO of Marsh Inc. "The global risk environment is more fluid and more complex than ever before — demanding more from risk professionals. I know that the team joining Marsh today share our commitment to delivering the best to our clients. My colleagues and I warmly welcome the HSBC team to Marsh."

"We are particularly excited by the opportunity to be a Preferred Strategic Partner to HSBC, one of the world’s largest financial institutions. We look forward to working with HSBC and providing its referred clients with the best risk management advice and insurance solutions," Mr. Glaser added.

The acquisition, which was funded with cash, has been completed in all geographies with the exception of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia – where Marsh expects to close in the second quarter of 2010. The acquired revenue of HIBL’s operation is approximately £130 million on an annual basis.