Aon is paying US$17 billion for USI. KKR took it private for US$4.3 billion in 2017
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The story behind it
Aon is borrowing US$17.5 billion to buy an insurance broker and its shareholders sent the bill back Read the edition →On the calendar
The US releases that move markets, in New Zealand and Australian time. Economic calendar →
The story behind it
Aon is borrowing US$17.5 billion to buy an insurance broker and its shareholders sent the bill back Read the edition →On the calendar
The US releases that move markets, in New Zealand and Australian time. Economic calendar →What the chart shows
Nine years is a long time in insurance broking. When KKR and a Canadian pension fund took USI Insurance Services private in 2017, the price was US$4.3 billion. Aon has now agreed to buy the same company for US$17 billion in cash.
The middle bar is Aon's previous move into the market for mid-sized company clients: US$13 billion for NFP in 2024. Today's deal is that bet again, only larger, and this time it is funded by US$17.5 billion of fresh borrowing while Aon's buybacks are paused.
Sharespective's Monday edition sets out why the promised savings are a forecast and the interest bill is a contract.
The numbers
Announced purchase prices for USI's 2017 buyout and Aon's two insurance-broker deals, in US dollars. Aon's US$17 billion for USI is agreed, not yet completed.
| Value | |
|---|---|
| USI to KKR, 2017 | US$4.3bn |
| NFP to Aon, 2024 | US$13bn |
| USI to Aon, 2026 | US$17bn |
How we make these charts: one chart a day from a story in the edition, drawn from the figures the story names and checked against the sources named on the chart before it is published. General information only, not financial advice.
