An office building with the Aon logo is seen amid the easing of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, on June 3, 2020. Loren Elliott | ReutersAon is closing in on a roughly $17 billion deal, including debt, to acquire insurance brokerage USI from private equity firm KKR, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. A deal could be announced as early as Monday, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. USI is an insurance brokerage and consulting firm based in Valhalla, New York, specializing in risk management, employee benefits and retirement consulting. The company has about $3 billion in annual revenue, according to its website. KKR bought USI from private equity firm Onex in 2017 and has since increased its ownership stake, becoming the company’s largest shareholder in 2023. A potential deal for USI would follow a series of high-profile exits by KKR, including the sales of data center cooling firm CoolIT and Circor’s commercial and defense aerospace business earlier this year. KKR reported a record $1.29 billion in asset sales for the quarter ending in June. A deal with USI would help Aon — a large insurance broker and consulting firm with a market capitalization of $75 billion — expand its reach to midsize companies and boost earnings per share as early as 2028, the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Aon reported adjusted second-quarter earnings of $3.81 per share on July 29, beating Wall Street analysts’ estimates. Since then, the stock has fallen 5.6%, closing at $355.40 on Friday. Read the full Wall Street Journal report here. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
