Aon to expand middle-market reach with $17bn USI takeover

Aon has agreed to acquire insurance broker USI from private equity firm KKR and other shareholders in a transaction valued at $17bn.

The agreement comes after Aon’s 2024 purchase of NFP and “establishes the premier platform in the large and growing US middle-market segment”, the insurance intermediary said.

Headquartered in the US, USI operates as the country’s tenth-largest insurance brokerage, generating roughly $3bn in yearly turnover, according to Aon.

It employs over 10,500 personnel across nearly 200 domestic branches, providing commercial property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk advisory, and retirement services.

Beyond standard corporate brokerage, Aon said the takeover gives it wider direct reach into the excess and surplus (E&S) lines arena via managing general agents, managing general underwriters, and wholesale distribution networks.

The E&S sector accounts for 26% of US commercial property and casualty premiums, the group noted.

The transaction will integrate USI’s proprietary analytics and strategic planning system, USI ONE, into Aon’s broader operating and technology infrastructure, expanding its data resources for client advisory.

Aon projects the transaction will generate around $395m in annual run-rate net adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) through combined operational and revenue synergies across its middle-market operations.

The firm anticipates the acquisition will become accretive to adjusted earnings per share from 2028 onwards.

Upon completion of the transaction, Mike Sicard, the current chairman and chief executive of USI, will become president of Aon and global chief executive of middle market.

Sicard will report directly to Aon chief executive Greg Case and take a seat on the firm’s executive committee.

Case said: “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.”