London-based FFastFill plc Announces Acquisition of the Trade and Assets of Chicago-based WTD Consulting, Inc.

LONDON and CHICAGO, Nov. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- London-based FFastFill plc (LSE: FFA), the leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) to the global derivatives community, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the trade and assets of Chicago-based technology consulting and software solutions business, WTD Consulting, Inc. (WTD), for a maximum consideration of up to $12.0 million (7.6m pounds Sterling). The transaction is expected to close no later than 2 December 2011.

The new technology and team strengthens FFastFill's US-based business and enables the company to complete the customisation required to take its back-office product, Eclipse, into the US market.  WTD has extensive post-trade processing and consulting experience in both the exchange-traded derivatives (ETD) and over-the-counter (OTC) markets which FFastFill intends to leverage across its global customer base.

Said Hamish Purdey, FFastFill Chief Executive Officer:  "By bringing together both our teams and technologies in this highly complementary acquisition, we will be able to drive additional growth as we build on FFastFill's significant strengths in SaaS and more aggressively capture opportunities in the US marketplace.  The transaction with WTD not only solidifies our position in the ETD market but positions us well to benefit from the significant regulatory changes taking place in the United States that are steadily driving the clearing of traditional OTC methods toward a central counterparty clearing model."

David Evans, WTD CEO, said:  "We are very proud to join FFastFill and to leverage our technology and services for the benefit of our customers.  By combining resources and capabilities, the resulting company will provide a broader portfolio of services and products, based on a solid global infrastructure. In very short order, our mutual customers will see the value of our combined vision." 

The WTD consulting business asset will be acquired by newly formed FFastFill Consulting, Inc., and the product and operation business assets by US-based subsidiary FFastFill Inc.  Prior to the deal closing, customer contracts will be assigned to the two companies. WTD has a customer base of 30 firms, including a number of global banks.

The customers of WTD's Prysm middle-office system for exchange-traded derivatives will continue to be fully supported by FFastFill while the Prysm functionality is integrated into FFastFill's Seals NG platform, a matching and allocation system to provide futures and options clearing functionality across global derivatives exchanges. Customers using WTD's popular iDash product will receive similar support, with plans for FFastFill to offer the product as a SaaS offering over time.

The acquisition also adds 40 members of staff based in Chicago.  All WTD staff will be offered new employment contracts with FFastFill, and some will continue to be deployed on customer sites.

Ryan McElvogue, Managing Director, FFastFill Inc, said:  "WTD has an outstanding reputation based on robust technology, quality individuals and outstanding customer service.  We are very pleased to welcome these professionals to the FFastFill US team and look forward to continuing this tradition of excellence while expanding the breadth and depth of our US operations."

Patrick Mayo, President of WTD, said:  "Joining FFastFill is a very positive step for both our clients and our employees. This union will allow us to continue to provide consulting expertise to our existing customers as well as expand our consulting services across the globe." 

When the acquisition is complete, Mayo will be Managing Director of FFastFill Consulting, Inc., while Evans takes on the role of Enterprise Architect on the software side.  Both officers will remain in Chicago.

About FFastFill plc                                                                                                                  

FFastFill (www.ffastfill.com) is the leading provider of Software as a Service to the global derivatives community, using the latest developments in technology to automate trade flow processes across a firm's front, middle and back offices. FFastFill's solutions encompass electronic order routing, clearing, risk management and back office as part of an integrated, yet modular system architecture. FFastFill is traded on London's AIM (AIM: FFA).

About WTD Consulting, Inc.

WTD Consulting, Inc. was formed in 1998 by a team of developers, managers and system analysts to provide bookkeeping-system support to a select group of banks and brokerage firms. Since then WTD has grown to provide a full range of data-management programs, system consulting and development services for the front, middle and back office. Today, WTD counts among its clients many of the leaders in the financial services industry. The expertise of WTD includes more than five decades of combined experience with the technologies that are unique to futures, options and securities-account management.

SOURCE FFastFill plc