Dealing room communications outfit IPC has made a binding proposal to acquire rival vendor Etrali Trading Solutions.
Founded in 1965, Etrali was acquired by The Gores Group, a private equity firm in 2013. Employing over 500 people in major financial centres, the company claims installations at more than 2000 buyside and sell-side institutions.
The combination with IPC - which boast 5000 customer sites across 700 cities - would command a global network of dealing positions across the international trading community.
While IPC makes much of the complementary nature of the businesses, there is considerable overlap which is likely to create significant opportunities for cost-cutting.
Financial details of the transaction have not been announced and the companies have provided no details on how the businesses will dovetail.