Towers Watson, a New York-based professional services company, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the global operations of EMB, a property & casualty (P&C) consulting and software firm.

Towers Watson has said that the acquisition is expected to be slightly dilutive to its adjusted diluted earnings per share in the fiscal year ending 30 June 2011, but does not change the company's financial expectations for the fiscal year.

EMB was establised in 1993 in the UK as the first actuarial consultancy dedicated to P&C insurance and the development of high-performance actuarial software.

EMB has more than 300 employees and, in its fiscal year ending April 2010, had revenues in excess of £40m.

The acquisation will expand the Towers Watson's software portfolio with the addition of EMB's products EMB Igloo, EMB Emblem, EMB ResQ.

Towers Watson global leader of Towers Watson's Risk and Financial Services segment Patricia Guinn said, the EMB acquisition furthers Towers Watson's strategy to serve clients with increasingly sophisticated risk analytics and consulting solutions.