U.S. trial for Aon’s purchase of Willis Towers Watson set for late 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Judge Reggie Walton has set a split trial date for the Justice Department’s fight to stop insurance broker Aon’s planned $30 billion acquisition of Willis Towers Watson.

The judge, in an order posted on Friday, said that the bench trial in the case would be heard from Nov. 18 to 23 and Dec. 20 to 22. The trial will be held in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit in June in hopes of blocking the deal, arguing that it would combine the second and third largest of the “Big Three” global insurance brokers and lead to higher prices.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by Diane Craft)