Mercer to Extend Career and Talent Solutions across Asia by Acquiring HRBS

Mercer, a global consulting leader in advancing health, wealth and careers, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), today announced the acquisition of Human Resources Business Solutions (HRBS), a provider of career and talent consulting and information services to clients across Asia, with concentrated strength in Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China. The acquisition will extend Mercer’s leadership in Asia in compensation and benefits expertise, an area of critical importance in the region’s high demand talent markets.

Founded in 2001, HRBS has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing and employs approximately 45 professionals. The company has built a strong brand on the bedrock of its operation being the high quality and consistency of its executive remuneration information assets, which cover both multinational and publicly listed firms. The company is a dominant player in the compensation and benefits space for inbound multinationals and has established market leadership in the luxury goods, retail and apparel-sourcing sectors across Asia.

“Our clients across Asia are experiencing incredible growth and change and, as a result, they are facing new and greater complexities in talent management,” said Susan Haberman, Mercer’s Talent Business Leader for Growth Markets. “HRBS has an excellent reputation for talent consulting combined with consistent, highly sought after information. The acquisition will strengthen Mercer’s competitive position in its core Talent business and will fuel faster growth than we would have achieved organically. Together, we will bring the best possible information and solutions to our clients.”

HRBS will enhance Mercer’s portfolio in the areas of remuneration strategy, pay structure design, short- and long-term incentive design and performance management. It will also bring a range of regular surveys to Mercer clients, including an Executive Pay Survey, an Employee Benefits Survey and industry-specific surveys across numerous sectors, including luxury goods, retail, garment buying, market research, marketing services, internet and construction. HRBS also conducts surveys on merit increases, bonuses, attrition and ad-hoc surveys on market conditions.

“We are delighted to be able to do more for our clients by merging with the global Mercer team,” said Elaine Ng, Managing Principal and Co-Founder of HRBS. “This strategic move is a win-win for both companies and our clients. Few organizations can offer high quality data and advisory capabilities in executive compensation. By combining HRBS’ skillsets with those of Mercer, we will be redefining executive compensation solutions in the marketplaces of Asia.”

The transaction is expected to close in the next 30 days.

About HRBS

HRBS (HR Business Solutions) is an independent compensation and benefits consultancy. Our services cover four main areas, namely Consulting Service, Information Service, C&B Training and C&B Online Solutions. Headquartered in Hong Kong and having offices in Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing, HRBS serves over 400 multinational companies across the Asia region. We provide executive compensation expertise and advisory and run an annual executive compensation survey across countries in Asia, in addition to a public listed directors’ remuneration online database in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. We are the industry leader in conducting luxury goods industry and retail surveys as well as garment buying and general merchandizing surveys among the sourcing arms of global retailers. We conduct other regular industry surveys in market research, marketing services, electronics, internet and construction sectors, as well as a benefits survey. With quality delivery and prompt service in response to client needs, we have gained our reputation to be a reliable service provider and business partner in working on a wide-range of consulting projects from salary to incentives and benefits. For more information, visit www.hrbsasia.com.

About Mercer

Mercer is a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement and investments. Mercer helps clients around the world advance the health, wealth and performance of their most vital asset – their people. Mercer’s more than 20,000 employees are based in more than 40 countries and the firm operates in over 130 countries. Mercer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), a global professional services firm offering clients advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy and people. With 57,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue exceeding $13 billion, Marsh & McLennan Companies is also the parent company of Marsh, a leader in insurance broking and risk management; Guy Carpenter, a leader in providing risk and reinsurance intermediary services; and Oliver Wyman, a leader in management consulting. For more information, visit www.mercer.com. Follow Mercer on Twitter @Mercer.

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