LONDON – The London Stock Exchange moved closer on Tuesday to buying Russell Investments, saying it was in “exclusive discussions” to potentially acquire the owner of the Russell 2000 stock market index.
In a statement, the exchange confirmed that it had entered exclusive talks with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, which is the parent company of Russell Investments.
The news comes a week after the exchange first announced that it was in negotiations with Northwestern Mutual.
“Discussions remain ongoing and there can be no certainty that a transaction will be forthcoming,” the L.S.E. said.
In January, Northwestern Mutual said it was exploring options for its majority ownership of Russell Investments, including a possible sale.
Russell Investments, based in Seattle, operates an asset management business and a stock market indexing business. The company has about $260 billion in assets under management. It says that about $5.2 trillion in assets are referenced against its United States indexes, the best known of which is the Russell 2000 for small-cap stocks.