KKR has signed a definitive agreement to sell USI Insurance Services to Aon for $17 billion in cash, marking a major monetization for KKR’s Strategic Holdings portfolio and generating substantial returns on an investment that began nearly a decade ago.
USI is one of the largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the U.S., with more than 10,500 employees operating from nearly 200 offices. The company provides property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal risk, retirement and other risk management solutions.
KKR originally invested in USI in 2017 alongside clients, co-investors and USI management and employees in a transaction valuing the company at approximately $4.3 billion.
The investment represented KKR’s first core private equity transaction and became part of what is now the firm’s Strategic Holdings portfolio.
KKR subsequently increased its investment in USI in 2020, 2023 and 2025.
During KKR’s ownership period, USI nearly tripled its revenue through a combination of organic expansion and more than 90 strategic acquisitions.
USI’s workforce also more than doubled as the companies invested in a differentiated insurance broker hiring and development strategy.
KKR and USI additionally invested in proprietary technology, data and artificial intelligence capabilities intended to strengthen client service and improve operating efficiency.
Over the ownership period, USI’s Adjusted Revenue grew at an approximately 12% compound annual rate, while Adjusted EBITDA increased at an approximately 13% CAGR.
The $17 billion all-cash sale represents an approximately 6x return on the equity KKR originally invested in 2017.
Measured against all KKR balance sheet capital invested in USI throughout the holding period, the transaction represents approximately a 3.4x return.
The transaction is also expected to have a significant impact on KKR’s earnings.
Subject to closing, KKR expects the sale to generate approximately $2 billion of Adjusted Net Income, or about $2 per share of ANI.
USI’s sale represents an important realization from KKR’s Strategic Holdings strategy, through which the firm invests its own balance sheet capital in businesses it believes can produce durable, less cyclical and recurring cash flows.
Following the USI transaction, Strategic Holdings will include interests in 18 companies representing KKR’s share of approximately $3.5 billion of Adjusted Revenue and roughly $800 million of Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12 months ended March 31, 2026.
For Aon, the acquisition would add one of the largest independent U.S. insurance brokerage and consulting businesses to its platform.
USI Chairman and CEO Mike Sicard characterized the combination as a transformative opportunity and said the next phase will build on the investments the company made in people, culture and technology during its partnership with KKR.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Goldman Sachs, Insurance Advisory Partners and Morgan Stanley are serving as financial advisors to KKR. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is serving as legal advisor to KKR and USI.
KEY QUOTES:
“USI is a textbook case of partnership, patience and value creation that delivered an exceptional outcome for our shareholders and clients. This monetization milestone for Strategic Holdings also demonstrates that the compounding opportunity of this portfolio, with durable, growth oriented and recurring cash flows, is real.”
Joe Bae And Scott Nuttall, Co-Chief Executive Officers Of KKR
“Working alongside Mike Sicard and the management team, we supported significant investments in USI’s people, platform and technology to grow a very good business into a stronger, more scaled and more innovative one.”
Chris Harrington, Partner At KKR
“We’ve had a great long-term partnership with KKR for nearly a decade, together we have invested in our team, our culture and our technology to build the USI platform into what it is today. We are excited to begin the next chapter with Aon.”
Mike Sicard, Chairman And CEO Of USI
