Mike Sicard

Aon is paying $17 billion for privately held USI Insurance Services only two years after its $13 billion NFP acquisition. The transaction gives KKR a sixfold return on its original 2017 equity, but Aon’s 9.5% share-price fall shows investors are focusing just as closely on leverage, a 14.5-times synergised EBITDA multiple and the cost of integrating another major insurance brokerage.