Two private-equity firms are finalists for American International Group Inc.'s (AIG) AIG Advisor Group business, according to people familiar with the bidding process.

A deal with one of the two firms, Lightyear Capital LLC and Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, could be done within days, the people said.

Lightyear is led by former Paine Webber Group Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Donald B. Marron, and Lovell is led by Putnam Lovell Securities co-founder Jeffrey D. Lovell.

Both Lightyear and Lovell invest in financial services companies exclusively and have invested in similar businesses before.

Amanda Kiely, a spokeswoman for Lightyear, said the company wouldn't comment. A Lovell Minnick representative didn't immediately return calls seeking comment, and an AIG spokeswoman declined to comment.

Bidding for the AIG Advisor Group, which provides custodial services to independent investment advisers, has been going on for months, with several private equity and strategic bidders dropping in and out. Private-equity firms Warburg Pincus LLC and Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc., along with Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP), were among those interested.

The news was reported earlier by Investment News.

-By Joseph Checkler, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2152; joseph.checkler@dowjones.com

(Brett Philbin contributed to this article.)