AON plans to acquire USI for 17 billion USD, aiming at the SME insurance brokerage market.

According to Golden Ten Data, sources report that AON Insurance (AON.US) is about to finalize a deal valued at approximately $17 billion, including debt, to acquire the insurance brokerage company USI from private equity firm KKR.

Sources said the deal could be announced as early as Monday.

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

KKR acquired USI from the private equity firm Onex in 2017, and has since increased its stake, becoming the company's largest shareholder in 2023.

If an agreement is reached to acquire USI, it would be another high-profile exit in a series of such deals by KKR. Earlier this year, KKR sold data center cooling company CoolIT as well as Circor’s commercial and defense aerospace businesses. According to KKR, asset sales reached a record $1.29 billion in the quarter ending in June.

Sources stated that the potential acquisition of USI would help insurance brokerage and consulting giant AON, with a market value of $75 billion, expand its presence in the mid-sized business sector and could boost its earnings per share as early as 2028.

On July 29, AON reported adjusted second-quarter earnings per share of $3.81, exceeding Wall Street analysts’ expectations. However, since then, the share price has dropped 5.6%, closing at $355.40 on Friday.