In a brief statement, FfastFill says that, as of this week, Cinnober holds 12,000,000 ordinary shares of one pence each.

FfastFill claims over 80 customers for its technology covering derivatives trading and risk management. Cinnober counts Deutsche Börse, Nyse Liffe and MTF Burgundy among its customers although the vendor recently lost out when the LSE migrated its Turquoise platform to the in-house MillenniumIT system.

The move to acquire a small stake in FfastFill could presage a tie-up, claims the Financial Times, although any deal would depend on Ion Trading, which holds a 25% stake in the UK firm.