Aon Plc is close to an agreement to acquire insurance brokerage USI Insurance Services from private equity firm KKR for about $17 billion, including debt, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The deal could be announced as early as Monday, the report said, provided the negotiations are successfully concluded.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
London-headquartered Aon and Valhalla, N.Y.-based USI could not immediately be reached for comment. New York City-based KKR declined to comment.
The deal would be the latest in a string of big exits for KKR, which includes the sale of its data-center cooling business CoolIT and the sale of the commercial and defense aerospace unit of Circor.
KKR, along with Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, acquired USI from Onex Corporation in 2017 for $4.3 billion, including debt. KKR has since made additional investment of more than $1 billion, making it the largest shareholder.
The acquisition would boost USI’s capabilities in helping midsize businesses and is expected to increase earnings per share as soon as 2028, according to the report.
