It's official. The London Stock Exchange has beaten out six other contenders to buy American asset manager, investing consultant and indexing giant Russell Investments for $2.7 billion.

In a statement, the LSE said that the deal will be financed in part by a $1.6 billion rights issue, with the rest of the financing coming from existing and new debt.

The deal is subject to board approval in September. Russell’s president and chief executive officer, Len Brennan, will join the Executive Committee of LSEG at the completion of the deal.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal, which is the exchange operator's biggest, puts sone $9 trillion of assets benchmarked globally and make it the second biggest player in U.S.-listed exchange traded funds.

As for the asset management arm, the "LSEG will undertake a comprehensive review of Russell’s investment management business to determine its positioning and fit with the Group," according to the statement.

The news caught the attention of numerous news outlets, including the New York Times; Reuters; Bloomberg and MarketWatch.

The LSE entered the race in May, going six other bidders: CVC Capital Partners, Silver Lake, Warburg Pincus, TPG Capital, CIBC and MSCI.

The exchange operator has made a name for itself as an aggressive acquirer, using creative share trades to make deals. 

Edited by: Tommy Fernandez


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