FRANKFURT, Germany, MUMBAI, India and PUNE, India, Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — RTS Realtime Systems Group (RTS), a leading global trading solutions provider headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, today announced that it has closed on its transaction to acquire First Futures Software Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (FFS), a high-end technology solutions provider in Pune, India. The transaction marks RTS’ first acquisition of another company since its founding in 1992. The firm also announced it would open a data center in Mumbai with India-based global telecommunications provider Tata Communications.

RTS disclosed its intention to acquire FFS in May, following an announcement in April of plans to open an office in Mumbai – the firm’s first office in India – to service a growing client base in the country. “Our acquisition of FFS enables us to have a strong presence on the ground in India with a highly skilled, experienced development, sales and support team composed of over two dozen professionals,” RTS CEO Steffen Gemuenden said. The transaction provides RTS with a complementary, state-of-the-art global product suite, while substantially increasing the distribution potential of FFS solutions and services globally, he added.

The new office in Mumbai provides Sales and Customer Support. The office in Pune will be the local Development headquarters for RTS. Satish Kumar, who served as Head of Operations at FFS, and Naveen Kumar, who served as FFS Director of Software Development, have been named Directors for RTS in India.

RTS is in the process of building out a data center in Mumbai, designed to offer hosting services and ultra-low latency connectivity for firms trading on multiple Indian exchanges. RTS is a leading technology provider for high-performance, low latency trading and connectivity solutions across all asset classes.

The team in India will offer local support for the fast-growing RTS and current FFS clients. RTS offers Indian trading and brokerage firms the ability to connect to India‘s major exchanges, including the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX), the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE).The firm’s algorithmic trading solutions, RTD Tango and RTD Tango Trader, help market participants trade in multiple asset classes as well as capture trading opportunities and manage their risk.

Gemuenden said: “We are very pleased to integrate the talented FFS team in India into RTS. These professionals have worked closely with our staff globally over the past couple of months, thoroughly learning the full range of RTS solutions, including our new RTD GUARD and RTD CORE offerings. Naveen and Satish both have extensive knowledge of the Indian markets and trading community, as well as the technology that will drive our growth in the coming years.”

About RTS Realtime Systems Group

RTS (www.rtsgroup.net) delivers high-performance, end-to-end technology products and services across asset classes and continents to elite financial institutions. The firm is one of the world’s leading providers of ultra-low latency, high frequency, robust algorithmic trading solutions. RTS offers standardized low latency connectivity gateways to 130+ exchanges and execution venues worldwide. In addition, the firm provides proximity hosting and co-location services for high-speed, ultra-low latency access to 65+ venues via its global data center network. RTS has offices in Amsterdam, Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York, Pune, Singapore and Sydney.

SOURCE RTS Realtime Systems Group