Willis Group is to enter into an agreement to buy approximately 3.8 million shares of its common stock from an affiliate of Lehman Brothers. The repurchase is part of Willis' previously announced stock repurchase programme and is done using an accelerated stock repurchase programme for an initial purchase price of $150 million.

“With significant financial flexibility, we are always considering how best to manage and utilise our capital to serve the best interests of our shareholders. This element of our stock repurchase programme is one of the levers we have at our disposal; it is both an economically attractive manner for us to deploy our available cash while at the same time continuing to build shareholder value,” said Joe Plumeri, chairman and chief executive officer.