Aon sells Swett & Crawford (December 01, 2005)

Aon Corporation (NYSE: AOC) has sold its U.S.-based wholesale broking operation, Swett & Crawford, to an investor group including Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. and Banc of America Capital Investors.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

News of the sale comes just days after Aon Corporation announced it was seeking a new owner for its warranty, credit insurance and property & casualty underwriting businesses.

“By exploring alternatives, we expect to determine if the potential of our warranty, credit and property & casualty businesses can be more fully realized under different ownership,” Greg Case, Aon’s president and CEO, stated in a prior press release.

Aon Corporation – boasting over 47,000 employees in 500 offices throughout over 120 countries – provides risk management services as well as insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting

Based in Dallas, Texas, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst is a private investment firm that specializes in leveraged buyouts. Its owner, Thomas Hicks, owns the Texas Rangers baseball team and the Dallas Stars hockey team.

During his tenure as CEO of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst between 1989 and 2004, the Hicks Muse firm raised over $12 billion of private equity funds and consummated over $50 billion of leveraged acquisitions.