By Sabela Ojea

The European Commission said Friday that it has cleared the acquisition of Willis Towers Watson PLC by rival Aon PLC subject to meeting certain commitments offered by Aon over potential competition breaches.

The European Union's antitrust authority said the commitments include the divestment of central units of Willis Towers Watson to brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher, which would improve the brokerage's footprint in the European Economic Area.

Both Willis Towers Watson PLC and Aon are leading players in the insurance and reinsurance brokerage markets, said Margrethe Vestager, the EU's antitrust chief.

"The remedy package accepted by the Commission ensures that European companies, including insurance companies and large multinational customers, will continue to have a good choice and good services when selecting a broker suitable for their needs," Vestager added.

Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix

Corrections and Amplifications

This article was corrected at 0150 GMT because a company name was misstated in the third paragraph. It is Willis Towers Watson, not Towers Watson PLC.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-09-21 0822ET