Aon Nears $17 Billion Deal for KKR-Backed USI Insurance
Aon nears a potential $17 billion deal for KKR-backed USI Insurance Services. The acquisition could strengthen Aon’s position in global insurance brokerage.
Aon is reportedly nearing a major deal to acquire KKR-backed USI Insurance Services. The transaction could value USI at around $17 billion and reshape the global insurance brokerage landscape
USI Insurance: London-headquartered insurance broking giant Aon is nearing an agreement to acquire USI Insurance Services from private equity firm KKR & Co. in a deal valued at approximately $17 billion including debt, multiple new publications reported August 30, citing people familiar with the matter. An announcement could come as early as Monday, August 31, if negotiations are finalised, according to the reports.
USI Insurance: What the deal involves
USI Insurance Services is a Valhalla, New York-based brokerage and consulting firm specialising in risk management, employee benefits, retirement consulting, and personal lines. USI has reportedly generated $2.89 billion in brokerage revenue in 2025, with its business split across retail (43.8%), employee benefits (44.8%), personal lines (4.9%) and wholesale (3.8%). The firm employs close to 11,000 staff and ranks as the 10th-largest insurance brokerage in the United States.
At the reported $17 billion valuation against roughly $3 billion in annual revenue, the transaction implies a purchase multiple of approximately 5.7 times sales.
For Aon — the world’s second-largest insurance broker by 2025 brokerage revenue at $16.99 billion, behind Marsh McLennan’s $26.66 billion — the acquisition would substantially expand its footprint among midsize corporate clients, an area where USI has built a strong presence.
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USI Insurance: KKR’s exit and ownership history
KKR, together with Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), first acquired USI from Onex Corporation in 2017 in a transaction valued at $4.3 billion including debt. KKR subsequently invested more than $1 billion of additional capital in USI, becoming the firm’s largest shareholder.
A completed sale would mark the latest in a string of major exits for KKR this year, following the sale of its data-center cooling business CoolIT and the divestiture of Circor’s commercial and defense aerospace unit. KKR recorded $1.29 billion in asset sales in the quarter ended June, its highest quarterly total, according to the Journal. The private equity firm has also maintained an aggressive fundraising pace in 2026, closing a $23 billion North America-focused fund earlier in the year and pushing total capital raised across its flagship regional funds to $46 billion.
Aon closed Friday’s trading session with a market capitalisation of approximately $75 billion. The company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.81 per share on July 29, topping Wall Street estimates, though its stock has since declined 5.6%, closing at $355.40 on Friday.
The prospective USI acquisition comes five years after Aon’s attempted $30 billion merger with Willis Towers Watson collapsed in 2021 following antitrust objections from the U.S. Department of Justice — a setback that had temporarily curbed Aon’s appetite for transformative, large-scale M&A. A USI deal would signal a return to big-ticket consolidation for the broker, in an industry where scale increasingly determines access to carriers, data, and specialised advisory capabilities.
As of publication, neither Aon nor KKR has formally confirmed the transaction. This is a developing story and will be updated as official confirmation emerges.
