The Willis Group
Headquartered in London, Willis Group Holding Ltd. is the world’s third largest commercial insurance broker. The company helps businesses analyze their risks, and it designs, plans, and manages insurance programs in coordination with underwriters worldwide. Willis has a worldwide network of 300 offices and operates in 100 countries.

In November 1998, KKR acquired Willis in a public-to-private transaction for US$1.7 billion. KKR purchased Willis at a time when the market for commercial insurance was “soft,” and the brokerage industry was undergoing intense consolidation. KKR’s investment helped Willis remain an independent entity.

KKR’s investment professionals and consultants worked with Willis’s management team on a variety of initiatives to improve operations, increase revenues, and strengthen capabilities for monitoring results. The firm recruited a world-class chairman and CEO, Joseph J. Plumeri, who reinvigorated the company’s sales culture and had a positive impact on company results.

The company returned to the public markets in June 2001, with an initial public offering at US$13.50 per share. When KKR exited the investment in November 2005, the stock was valued at US$36.91 per share.

Between 1999 and 2005, Willis’s revenues increased from US$1.2 billion to US$2.3 billion. The number of global employees increased from 10,716 to 12,600, and the number of U.K. employees increased from 3,485 to 4,000. Today, Willis has a market capitalization of approximately US$5 billion.