Willis Wins U.S. Approval for HRH Acquisition

Willis Group Holdings Ltd , the No. 3 global insurance broker, won approval to buy rival Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday.

Willis valued the cash and stock deal at $1.7 billion when it was first announced on June 9.

The deal was on a list of approved mergers that the FTC puts out several times a week.

Willis, which has major offices in New York and London, gets 30 percent of its revenue from the United States. Hilb, the eighth largest U.S. insurance broker, has 140 offices throughout the United States and two in the United Kingdom.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)