S&P affirms Aon

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed the BBB+ counterparty credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Aon Corp. and removed ratings from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on Aug. 22.

The outlook is stable.

Ratings were placed on CreditWatch following Aon's agreement to acquire unrated Benfield Group Ltd. for £935 million through a cash offer.

Aon has addressed integration risk and other issues, the agency said.

Ratings reflect Aon's strong competitive position, derived from its well-established global presence in the insurance brokerage industry and supplemented by its globally positioned consulting segment, the agency noted.

These positive attributes are offset by the company's historical operating performance and organic growth metrics, which have improved relative to other well-positioned peers' but have historically lagged those of its peers, the agency said.

Also, financial management generally has been somewhat aggressive as Aon traditionally has used operating cash flow to fund share repurchases, S&P added.

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