In an effort to fortify its hold in the cyber risk management space, Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) , announced that it will acquire New York City-based Stroz Friedberg Inc., a leading global risk management firm. It has offices across the U.S. as well as in London, Zurich, Dubai and Hong Kong.
Aon is banking on the bright prospects of the cyber risk management market given the growing use of information technology by companies around the world. Moreover, with cyber risk becoming more complicated and severe by the day, stringent management to deter data theft is the need of the hour.
Financial details of the deal were kept under wraps and the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.
Aon chose to tie up with Stroz Friedberg due to the its cyber security governance and advisory services, including its strength in testing, incident response, digital forensics, and eDiscovery, which will help to establish Aon’s position as a global leader in the cyber risk management market.
Post the acquisition, Aon will absorb the entire employee force of Stroz Friedberg including more than 550 personnel.
Aon is optimistic on the latest deal and aims to leverage the rising demand for cyber risk protection. Besides, even as technology becomes more complex and sophisticated, the severity of cyber threats intensifies, making it imperative for businesses to seek increasingly stringent protective measures.
In this context, last month, Aon Risk Solutions launched Aon Cyber Enterprise Solution, the first-of-its-kind property/casualty and Internet of Things insurance policy for protecting businesses from cyber risks. The insurance policy will cover properties, products liability, supply chain risk, technology platforms and information/physical assets. It will also offer protection against privacy and security liability.
Recently, Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) introduced its Cyber Enterprise Risk Management solution in the Asia-Pacific region. Another big player in this space is The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE:TRV) , which offers various types of cyber liability policies for varying degrees of risk.
Aon carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). A better-ranked stock in the insurance space is Everest Re Ltd. (NYSE:RE) , with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
For 2016, Everest Re has seen a 2.5% rise in its Zacks Consensus Estimate to $17.18 over the past 60 days. On an average, the company has delivered a positive earnings surprise of 16.54% in the trailing four quarters.
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