What Does the KKR/USI $17B Exit Tell Founders About Services Company Valuations?

KKR bought USI Insurance Services in 2017 for $4.3B. In 2026, they sold it to Aon for $17B -- a 6x return in 9 years.

USI is an insurance brokerage. No software. No recurring SaaS revenue. No ARR multiple. Just durable relationships, fee-based revenue, and a PE firm that understood how to run and grow a services business.

For founders running B2B services companies who are wondering what they are worth: this is your comp.

What KKR actually built (and what they paid for it)

USI Insurance Services brokers insurance for businesses -- they do not underwrite risk, they advise clients and place policies. Revenue is fee-based: a percentage of premiums placed.

KKR paid $4.3B in 2017 on approximately $600M of revenue -- about 7x revenue. At sale in 2026, they are getting $17B on what Aon valued as a premium, scaled distribution platform.

The 6x return came from: organic growth, acquisitions (USI made 60+ acquisitions under KKR ownership), and margin expansion. EBITDA likely grew from roughly $150M in 2017 to $500M+ by 2026.

The exit multiple: approximately 8-9x EBITDA at sale. Not spectacular by software standards, but applied to a much larger EBITDA base.

What this means for services business founders

Services businesses are acquirable at real valuations. The playbook: durable client relationships, recurring or repeat revenue, a clear market position, and an operating model that can scale under PE ownership.

The USI story is not an outlier. Insurance brokerages, accounting firms, engineering services firms, and managed service providers routinely trade at 6-12x EBITDA in 2026 PE markets.

The relevant multiple is EBITDA, not ARR. If you are a services business trying to get valued as a SaaS company, you are using the wrong denominator. The right question is: what is your EBITDA, what is your growth rate, and what is the strategic value of your client base?

Concentration and client retention are the core variables. In a services business, your "NRR equivalent" is client retention and revenue per client growth. USI retained clients at very high rates -- the insurance brokerage business is sticky by nature. If your services business has 90%+ client retention and 10-15% revenue growth per client, that is a fundable, acquirable asset.

What PE firms look for in a services business

• Revenue of $5M-$20M+ with 80%+ coming from retained clients (not project work)
• EBITDA margins of 15-30%
• No customer concentration above 20%
• Defined service area or vertical where you have market position
• Founder who is willing to stay and run the business post-acquisition
• Clear acquisition targets to add to the platform (roll-up opportunity)

If your services business has these characteristics, the buyout market is actively deploying capital. $1.1T in US PE dry powder is looking for businesses exactly like this.

The PE roll-up question

USI's growth accelerated under KKR through acquisitions. KKR bought regional insurance brokers, integrated them onto USI's platform, and extracted efficiencies.

For services businesses in fragmented markets (accounting, insurance, legal services, IT services, engineering), PE roll-up activity is a real exit path. You could be either the platform company (like USI) or an add-on acquisition.

If you are in a fragmented services market, you should be tracking which PE firms are already building platforms in your sector. Those are your most likely acquirers -- and they often pay premium prices for businesses that fit cleanly into their existing platform.

2026 services M&A context

The KKR/USI deal is among the largest insurance brokerage exits in history. But it is directionally consistent with what is happening across services sectors. Aon paid 17B because USI's distribution network is genuinely valuable and hard to replicate. That premium for defensible distribution is available to services businesses at every scale.

Where to go next

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