BPool enables traders to interact with liquidity present on Bloomberg's equities trading platforms and Bids Trading's ATS, which acts as the service's order matching engine.

BPool shares the broker-sponsored access model implemented by Bids, which enables buy-side traders to fully allocate commission dollars to the broker of their choice and pay for services, such as research.

As part of the deal, Bloomberg is also taking a stake in Bids, joining a consortium of more than dozen Wall Street firms that own the block trading venue. Raymond Tierney, president and CEO, Bloomberg Tradebook, joins the Bids board.

Bloomberg says that, as an integrated component of the trading tools available with its order and execution management platforms, the service will give traders the option to interact with centralised liquidity and configurable orders to help automate and optimise liquidity capture.

Jim White, a 20 year veteran of electronic equities markets, will lead BPool, which is running on technology developed in conjunction with Bloomberg's EMSX and SSEOMS product teams. The decision engine is developed and operated by Bloomberg Tradebook.

Daniel Doctoroff, president and CEO, Bloomberg, says: "BPool provides access to what the US equity markets have been looking for, a centralised, active and diverse marketplace. Our clients now have a more efficient way to implement trading strategies and achieve better execution results."

Tim Mahoney, chief executive officer, Bids Trading, adds: "The injection of Bloomberg's diverse order flow creates a deep and efficient liquidity pool in an otherwise fragmented marketplace."