The acquisition strengthens Aon’s grip on America’s middle market while giving private-equity owner KKR a lucrative exit from the insurance broker
American management consulting giant Aon has agreed to buy rival USI Insurance Services in a USD 17 billion deal from private equity firm KKR, in one of the biggest acquisitions in the industry’s recent history.
The acquisition also adds another chapter in the phenomenon of mega buyouts, which has become more typical in the highly fragmented insurance brokerage industry in recent years, with companies shelling out more cash to bolster their market presence and competitive edge.
Aon, through the USI Insurance’s takeover, will be further expanding its presence in the vast and fast-growing American middle-market insurance segment, which caters to mid-sized businesses.
“USI will substantially enhance our middle-market footprint and expand access for our firm in the E&S (excess & surplus) segment,” Aon CEO Greg Case said, while noting the rapid emergence of the E&S segment among the fastest-growing areas in US commercial insurance.
The middle-market segment in the world’s largest economy is currently pegged at over USD 40 billion, accounting for more than one-third of commercial property and casualty direct written premiums.
“These (middle-market) companies are a critical engine of the economy, and there is greater opportunity to meet their increasingly complex needs,” Case told analysts.
The USI deal, which builds on Aon’s USD 13 billion acquisition of middle-market property and casualty broker NFP in 2024, will add more strength to its health, talent, and human capital advisory offerings.
Established in 1994, USI is an insurance brokerage and consulting firm that offers property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and program and retirement services. It began with a single office and has since scaled into the tenth largest American insurance brokerage with about USD 3 billion in annual revenue.
Aon, on the other hand, as one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, caters to clients in over 120 countries, helping them navigate increasing complexity and volatility.
The USI deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 and anticipated to boost Aon’s adjusted profit in 2028. As per Case, Aon plans to fund the deal through debt and doesn’t expect near-term share buybacks as it prioritizes debt repayment.
USI CEO Mike Sicard will serve as Aon’s president and global CEO of its middle-market platform.
For KKR, the USI sale marks the latest in a run of its investment exits, despite the private equity industry witnessing firms struggling to sell portfolio companies. The second quarter was the largest monetization quarter in KKR’s history.
KKR and Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought USI in a USD 4.3 billion deal in 2017. Since then, the private equity major boosted its stake in the firm and became USI’s largest stakeholder.
Under KKR’s ownership, the middle-market broker nearly tripled its revenue.
Piper Sandler analysts termed the sale as a “success story” for the strategic holdings unit through which KKR invests its money, differing from the traditional private equity model of using capital from outside investors.
“The sale (delivers) a meaningful return on original invested capital and validates KKR’s management’s message that return of capital to its backers is accelerating despite external market skepticism around PE monetization activity broadly,” Piper Sandler said.
As per KKR, the USI sale represents roughly a sixfold return on its investment in 2017 and a 3.4-fold return on the capital invested over the life of its investment in the insurance firm. The deal with Aon is expected to generate roughly USD 2 billion of adjusted profit for KKR.
