Russell Investments has been sold by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Group to TA Associates, the private equity firm that bought UK asset manager Jupiter Fund Management back in 2007.
TA Associates said it signed a definitive agreement to buy Russell Investments, the asset management business of Frank Russell, in a deal valued at $1.15bn (€1bn).
It is linking with Reverence Capital Partners in the deal, with the latter making a “significant minority investment” in Russell Investments.
Xavier Rolet, chief executive at the LSE Group, said: “Until completion, LSEG remains firmly committed to Russell Investments, its global customer base, its exemplary client service and its innovative product offering.”
The LSE Group said back in February that it was willing to sell the investment management arm of Russell Investments, after buying Frank Russell last year, having announced the deal in June 2014.
It has since split the company into an indexing part and an investment management part.
The indexing activities have been merged with FTSE, also owned by the LSE Group, to form FTSE Russell.
FTSE Russell is unaffected by the sale of Russell Investments, and the indices provided by FTSE Russell will remain as they are, variously branded under the FTSE or Russell names.
Todd Crockett, a managing director at TA Associates, said. “The breadth of Russell Investments’ investment and implementation operations, as well as its orientation to multi-asset and solutions investing, will continue to be a differentiator and driver of growth in the market going forward.”
Goodwin Procter is providing legal advice to TA Associates and Reverence Capital on the deal, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is acting as legal counsel to the LSE Group.
TA Associates and Reverence Capital are also being advised by G Broadhaven Capital Partners, while LSE Group and Russell Investments are being advised by JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
The Russell Investments deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2016, pending regulatory approval.
Russell Investments has nearly $2.7trn in assets under management.
TA Associates bought Jupiter Fund Management in 2007, backing a management buyout from the then owner Commerzbank, and sold most of its stake in the company in 2010 in an IPO.
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