In an interview with CNBC, Aon CEO Greg Case said the USI deal, combined with Aon’s 2024 NFP acquisition, is expected to create a “premier U.S. middle market platform.”
- Case said Aon sees “very high” value capture potential from synergies and has “high conviction on delivery.”
- The transaction is valued at 14.5 times EBITDA, including expected synergies, and will be funded “fully on the balance sheet.”
- Case said Aon expects leverage to rise following the acquisition but plans to pay down the additional debt while maintaining its investment-grade rating.
Aon (AON) CEO Greg Case said on Monday that the company’s $17 billion acquisition of USI was “maybe the greatest” value-creation opportunity he’s seen in his career of over 20 years.
In an interview with CNBC, Case stated that the acquisition of NFP, which Aon bought in 2024, combined with USI, will create what he called the “premier U.S. middle market platform.”
He added that the deal gives Aon a larger presence among U.S. middle-market businesses, which he said remains “underserved.” According to Case, the combined platform will target about 200,000 middle-market companies and their 48 million employees.
AON stock fell 1.8% in pre-market trade on Monday amid broader market weakness. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the insurance company remained in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day.
Aon’s $17 Billion USI Deal
The CEO stated that Aon understands “exactly where the synergies are” and described the transaction as a “very high value capture opportunity” with “high conviction on delivery.”
Case said the transaction is valued at 14.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), including the expected synergies.
Unlike the NFP acquisition, which involved issuing equity, Aon plans to fund USI “fully on the balance sheet.” Case acknowledged that leverage will rise following the transaction but said the company expects to pay down debt over time while maintaining its investment-grade rating.
“Typically, when we do a very high commitment to an investment-grade rating, so we’ll elevate a bit, we’ll pay that down over time,” he said.
Aon Targets Growing Risk In Middle Market
Case said the rationale for the deal is tied to the increasing complexity of risks facing businesses, including trade, technology, weather and workforce issues. “Risk is going up,” he said, adding that these factors have become “more intense, more interconnected” over the past five or six years.
According to Case, larger companies already have access to sophisticated risk-management and insurance solutions, while smaller businesses have fewer options. Aon wants to bring those capabilities to the middle market.
“We’re bringing content insight into the middle market in a way that we believe is going to help them make better decisions every day,” he said. Case cited cybersecurity and employee retirement benefits as examples of services Aon could bring to smaller companies.
According to Case, for Aon, the USI acquisition is both a scale play and an attempt to build a broader distribution platform for its risk-management and human-capital services in the U.S. middle market.
How Is Wall Street Feeling About Aon’s USI Acquisition?
Keefe Bruyette Woods maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating on Aon and a $412 price target. The firm noted that USI generated about $2.9 billion in revenue in 2025, implying a purchase price of roughly 5.9 times revenue.
The firm also pointed to the fragmented nature of the U.S. middle-market insurance brokerage industry. That could limit antitrust concerns while leaving Aon competing against a large number of smaller brokers.
Meanwhile, UBS maintained a ‘Neutral’ rating and a $387 price target, but also called the potential acquisition a strategic positive. Analyst Brian Meredith said the deal would make Aon one of the leading middle-market insurance brokers in the U.S.
UBS also noted that the middle market has historically grown faster than the upper-middle and large-market segments, giving Aon an opportunity to gain exposure to a faster-growing part of the brokerage industry.
AON stock has gained around 1.5% this year, but is down over 3% in the last 12 months.
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