LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Professional services firm Aon Plc announced Monday its agreement to acquire insurance brokerage USI Insurance Services from private-equity firm KKR & Co. Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at about $17 billion.
With the acquisition, the Irish risk management provider aims to advance its presence in the more than $40 billion U.S. middle-market segment, and to extend its capabilities across health, talent and Human Capital advisory offerings.
The purchase price would be $16.7 billion on a net basis, and reflects approximately $278 million of certain tax attributes.
The deal has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both Aon and USI. The transaction is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals. Aon and USI will continue to operate independently until the closing date.
Aon said it expects the transaction to deliver $395 million in annual run-rate net adjusted EBITDA impact from revenue and cost synergies across the combined middle-market platform. The company also expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in 2028.
Meanwhile, KKR, in its statement, said the sale would generate approximately $2.0 billion of adjusted net income for KKR or $2.00 per share of adjusted net income, subject to closing.
USI, a provider of property & casualty, employee benefit, personal risk and retirement solutions for the middle market, has more than 10,500 team members across nearly 200 U.S. offices. The insurance brokerage and consulting firm generated approximately $3 billion in annual revenue.
USI is powered by its proprietary USI ONE platform for analytics, networked resources and strategic planning to inform and advise clients.
USI is KKR's first core private equity investment, and is part of KKR's Strategic Holdings portfolio.
In 2017, KKR invested in USI in partnership with clients, co-investors and USI's management and employees in a deal that valued USI at around $4.3 billion. KKR later increased its investment in 2020, 2023 and 2025.
According to KKR, USI's adjusted revenues and adjusted EBITDA, over the course of its ownership, grew at compounded annual growth rates of approximately 12% and 13%, respectively.
Aon expects to fund the acquisition, as well as related transaction expenses and other costs, with new debt raised across a range of maturities, subject to market conditions.
Consistent with capital allocation strategy, the firm does not expect to repurchase shares in the near-term as it prioritizes debt repayment.
Following the deal closure, USI Chairman and CEO Mike Sicard will serve as President of Aon plc and global CEO of Middle Market. Sicard will report to Greg Case, President and CEO of Aon, and join the Aon Executive Committee.
Case stated, 'Combining with USI will establish the premier U.S. middle-market platform, deepen our context advantage and position Aon to accelerate organic growth. Building on the success of our acquisition of NFP, USI will substantially enhance our middle-market footprint and expand access for our firm in the E&S segment to deliver content, capabilities and expertise to a broader client base, while enabling client leaders to expand relationships and win new business.'
In the deal, BofA Securities and Citi served as financial advisors to Aon. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Insurance Advisory Partners LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to KKR.
In pre-market activity on the NYSE, Aon shares were losing around 0.12%, trading at $355.00, while KKR is gaining 0.13%, trading at $108.77.
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