LSE puts Russell Investments up for sale

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LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The London Stock Exchange Group said on Thursday it would sell Russell Investments, the asset management arm of the Frank Russell Co business which it acquired for $2.7 billion last year.

LSE said in a statement it was launching a sale process, having already received a number of expressions of interest in the unit.

Reuters reported last week that LSE was planning to sell the investment management unit for about $1.4 billion.

LSE bought Frank Russell from insurer Northwestern Mutual, primarily for its large index business. The exchange beat a number of interested buyers, including the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NasdaqGM: BOCH - news) (CIBC) and a handful of private equity firms, sources told Reuters last week.

The exchange operator decided to run a formal sales process after having informal conversations with at least three interested buyers, including CIBC, the sources added.

LSE said in June it was conducting a "comprehensive review" of the asset management business, which had $275 billion under management as of Sept. 30. (Reporting by Sarah Young and Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Potter)