Proposed $17 billion acquisition of USI! AON.US (AON.US) refers to the SME insurance brokerage market

Zhitong Finance App learned that according to people familiar with the matter, AON.US (AON.US) is about to reach a deal worth about 17 billion US dollars, including debt, to acquire insurance brokerage company USI from private equity investment company KKR.

People familiar with the matter revealed that the deal could be announced as early as Monday.

USI is an insurance brokerage and consulting firm headquartered in Valhalla, New York, focusing on risk management, employee benefits, and retirement consulting. According to its official website, the company has annual revenue of around $3 billion.

KKR acquired USI from private equity firm Onex in 2017, then continued to increase its holdings and became the company's largest shareholder in 2023.

If an agreement can be reached on the acquisition of USI, it would be another in a series of high-profile KKR exit deals. Earlier this year, KKR sold data center cooling company CoolIT, as well as Circor's commercial and defense aerospace businesses. KKR reports that in the quarter ending June, its asset sales reached a record $1.29 billion.

People familiar with the matter said that the potential acquisition of USI will help Aon Group, a major insurance brokerage and consulting firm with a market capitalization of $75 billion, expand its business footprint in the midsize enterprise sector and increase its earnings per share as early as 2028.

Aon Group reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $3.81 on July 29, exceeding Wall Street analysts' expectations. Since then, however, the stock has declined 5.6% to close at $355.40 on Friday.