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Aon, the insurance and reinsurance broking and professional services firm, has confirmed that it is set to acquire USI Insurance Services for a purchase price of $17 billion, as it looks to further advance its middle-market platform in the United States.
Aon said the acquisition of USI will build on its integration of NFP, after it acquired that firm in 2024, as it targets a market-leading position in the growth area of U.S. middle-market risk, insurance, retirement and benefits services.
As we reported this morning, the Wall Street Journal had said yesterday that it learned an acquisition of USI was set to be announced by Aon imminently.
Aon has now confirmed the WSJ’s reporting and said this acquisition will extend its “differentiated capabilities to provide better choice, superior solutions and greater value for clients.”
While also expanding its access to the excess & surplus (E&S) market segment, which it sees as a particularly fast-growing area of commercial insurance.
The acquisition is additionally expected to enhance Aon’s data and analytics capabilities, as it looks to develop the leading proposition in middle-market broking in the U.S.
Aon has confirmed the purchase price of $17 billion and said that the deal is expected to “deliver $395 million in annual run-rate net adjusted EBITDA impact from revenue and cost synergies across the combined middle-market platform and to be accretive to adjusted EPS in 2028.”
KKR led a deal to purchase USI from Onex in 2017 at a $4.3 billion including debt price tag.
Today, the private equity investment giant said this sale of USI to Aon, “represents approximately 6.0 times the original equity KKR invested in 2017 and 3.4 times the total KKR balance sheet capital invested over the life of KKR’s investment in USI.”
“In a time of rising complexity and volatility, creating better outcomes for clients across their risk and people challenges requires a combination of capabilities and expertise supported by proprietary data, analytics and technology,” explained Greg Case, President and CEO of Aon. “Through the successful execution of our 3×3 Plan to accelerate our Aon United strategy, we have significantly strengthened our firm to build the industry’s most differentiated model: what we call our context advantage.”
The CEO added, “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. Our combined data platform will generate richer insight, advance the development of innovative, AI-driven solutions and expand the universe of insurable risk, while further reinforcing the context advantage that differentiates Aon. For nearly two decades, Mike Sicard has built and led a high-performing and integrated team, and I am excited about the opportunities we will create together for our clients, colleagues and shareholders.”
USI Chairman and CEO Mike Sicard is set to now serve as the President of Aon plc and its global CEO of Middle Market, reporting to Greg Case, and he will also take a seat on the Aon Executive Committee.
“Joining Aon represents a truly energizing next chapter for our firm and an opportunity to accelerate our momentum as part of the Aon United platform,” Sicard commented. “Our firms share strong, one-firm cultures with a deep commitment to working together to bring the best of our capabilities to clients. I look forward to leading Aon’s middle-market platform and uniting the strengths of USI, NFP and Aon to deliver a new standard of content, capabilities and service to our clients.”
Aon said that the acquisition of USI makes it a leader in the middle-market, while expanding its access to E&S business through MGA’s, MGU’s and wholesalers.
The company further explained that it sees the deal as uniting two organisations that have “shared one-firm mindsets” and proven leadership, which it believes can facilitate and faster and more seamless integration.
Aon said the deal will create compelling long-term shareholder value, with significant synergies and enhanced growth opportunities to access larger addressable markets.
Aon said it expects to fund the $17 billion acquisition and related expenses and other costs, with new debt raised across a range of maturities, subject to market conditions.
The transaction has been unanimously approved, but remains subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, with a targeted closing date for the acquisition in the fourth-quarter of 2026.
Aon and USI are set to continue to operate independently until the closing date is reached, the company said.
KKR explained that on closing its exit from USI is expected to generate approximately $3.3 billion of after-tax proceeds and around $2 billion of Adjusted Net Income (ANI) or over $2.00 per share of ANI.
Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, Co-Chief Executive Officers of KKR, said, “Thank you to everyone at USI who has been part of our journey. USI is a textbook case of partnership, patience and value creation that delivered an exceptional outcome for our shareholders and clients. This monetization milestone for Strategic Holdings also demonstrates that the compounding opportunity of this portfolio – with durable, growth oriented and recurring cash flows – is real.”
“We are enormously proud of everything the USI team has accomplished over the course of our partnership,” added Chris Harrington, Partner at KKR. “When we acquired USI, we saw a fantastic company that was uniquely positioned to help address the risk management, insurance and employee benefits-related needs of businesses across America. Working alongside Mike Sicard and the management team, we supported significant investments in USI’s people, platform and technology to grow a very good business into a stronger, more scaled and more innovative one. USI has continued to innovate and extend its leadership position, and we believe Aon is the ideal long-term partner to support the next chapter of its growth.”
Sicard of USI further stated, “USI’s combination with Aon represents a transformative opportunity for the future. We’ve had a great long-term partnership with KKR for nearly a decade — together we have invested in our team, our culture and our technology to build the USI platform into what it is today. We are excited to begin the next chapter with Aon and want to thank our partners at KKR for their tremendous support of USI.”
The post Aon confirms it will acquire USI for $17bn, to advance its U.S. middle market platform appeared first on ReinsuranceNe.ws.
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