NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Marsh & McLennan Cos., the second- largest insurance broker, agreed to pay £135 million ($218 million) to HSBC Holdings Plc for a business that places coverage with corporations in the UK, Middle East and Asia.

The cash and stock purchase of HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd. is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010, New York-based Marsh & McLennan said yesterday in a statement. Marsh & McLennan will have "preferred access" to provide brokerage business to customers of the London-based bank, the firm said.

The deal "will enable us to leverage HSBC's global network and banking relationships to generate new business," Dan Glaser, chief executive officer of the company's flagship brokerage, said in the statement.

Brokers including Marsh & McLennan and No. 1 Aon Corp. will expand through acquisitions after the recession squeezed sales of property-casualty insurance, reducing commissions that the middlemen get for placing coverage, Advisen Ltd. said in October. Marsh & McLennan's reinsurance brokerage, Guy Carpenter & Co., agreed in October to buy Rattner Mackenzie Ltd. from HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. to add sales in the Lloyd's of London market. Glaser said he expects more purchases to follow.

"I'm excited about our acquisition opportunities" both in the US and abroad, Glaser said in a news conference. "I'd expect another announcement pre-Christmas in terms of another agency acquisition in the US."

Marsh & McLennan fell 17 cents to $21.69 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading on Friday. HSBC fell 4.1 pence to 680 pence in London, and it has advanced about 18 percent this year. Marsh & McLennan has slipped about 11 percent this year.

No. 3 broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd., based in London, completed the biggest industry takeover in at least nine years in October 2008 with its $1.7 billion purchase of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co. of Glen Allen, Virginia. Chicago-based Aon bought reinsurance broker Benfield Group Ltd. of the UK for about $1.4 billion the following month.

Marsh & McLennan's soon-to-be announced purchase is "nothing mega" in terms of size, though the broker is "not limited to going small" with US acquisitions, Glaser said.

HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, said the deal will make more services available to its clients while increasing focus on sales of life insurance and savings products.

The HSBC business has about 1,400 employees in 30 offices in nations including Saudi Arabia, China and India. The operation will add sales to educational institutions and shippers, Marsh & McLennan said. Job cuts are "yet to be quantified," and the HSBC business fits well with Marsh & McLennan, Glaser said.

"Our focus is realising growth opportunities," said Glaser, when asked about possible workforce reductions. "There are limited levels of overlap. Some areas where we both have big positions are exactly areas where we feel very comfortable growing."