Aon Plc has agreed to buy USI Insurance Services from KKR and Co. for roughly $17 billion, a transaction that adds a sprawling middle-market brokerage to the Irish-domiciled giant and hands the private-equity firm an exit at a valuation near six times USI's annual revenue. The net purchase price is $16.7 billion after accounting for approximately $278 million in tax attributes. Both boards have approved unanimously, with closing targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026 pending regulatory review.
Cash consideration and leverage
The deal is structured as an all-cash acquisition. Aon said it will raise new debt across multiple maturities to fund the purchase, transaction expenses and related costs, with issuance timing and terms dependent on market conditions. No equity component was disclosed. The source did not provide a break fee, a go-shop period, or the premium to USI's undisturbed trading price, details that would clarify the negotiating leverage on each side.
What KKR owned
KKR acquired USI in 2017 and has held it through a period of bolt-on acquisitions and organic growth. The brokerage now employs more than 10,500 people across nearly 200 U.S. offices and generates approximately $3 billion in annual revenue across property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk and retirement services. At $17 billion enterprise value, the multiple implies KKR is selling at a level consistent with recent large-broker trades, though the absence of EBITDA disclosure in the announcement makes precise comparison difficult.
Leadership transition
Mike Sicard, USI's chairman and chief executive, will become president of Aon plc and global chief executive of Middle Market upon closing. He will report to Greg Case, Aon's president and chief executive, and join the Aon Executive Committee. The arrangement signals Aon intends to run USI as a distinct operating segment rather than folding it into existing commercial-risk or reinsurance lines, a structural choice that preserves the middle-market distribution engine KKR built.
Regulatory path and timing
The fourth-quarter 2026 target leaves a narrow window for antitrust review in a sector where the U.S. Department of Justice has scrutinized broker consolidation. Aon and USI will operate independently until closing. If regulators demand divestitures in overlapping geographies or product lines, the clean cash structure gives Aon flexibility to satisfy remedies without reopening financing terms, assuming the debt markets cooperate when the new issuance hits.