Dive Brief:

• The benefits outsourcing unit formerly part of insurance broker Aon Plc and sold to Blackstone Group LP in February has officially re-launched as Alight, according to a statement released Tuesday.
• Alight now seeks takeover opportunities to build on its cloud services and data operations, Bloomberg reports. The firm is looking for oppportunities that will allow it to advise clients on wealth, healthcare and retirement planning, CEO Chris Michalak told Bloomberg.
• Aon sold the benefits unit to Blackstone, a New York-based private equity firm, for $4.8 billion. According to Bloomberg, Alight will serve roughly 15% of the U.S. working population in more than 1,400 companies. 

Dive Insight:

After a few months of reorganization, HR leaders finally have information about one the employee benefits space's biggest players.

Blackstone bet big on the future performance of Aon Hewitt's outsourcing unit — to the tune of $4.8 billion. Alight already brought with it a large portfolio of clients, so the deal likely won't change much in the way of operations.

Competition against long-standing cloud players like Google and Oracle will be stiff, particularly as HR departments continue a general move to cloud solutions for standard processes like benefits enrollment. At the same time, observers are concerned about the risk of cyber attacks that target HR-specific information.

Aon, meanwhile, has stated that the divestiture of its outsourcing segment allowed it to pursue other emerging areas in HR, including insurance and cybersecurity. The industry will want to keep an eye on the direction of both firms moving forward.