Wombat Financial Software, which employs 100 staff in Belfast and has strong links with the North, has been acquired by the New York Stock Exchange for $200 million (€134.7 million).

Founded in the US in 1997, Wombat established its research and development operation in Belfast in 2004, and has grown rapidly since.

A significant portion of the ownership of the company is also understood to be held in Northern Ireland. A number of senior Wombat executives, including chief executive Danny Moore, who is a graduate of Queen's University, Belfast, are from Northern Ireland.

Wombat employs 142 people worldwide, and develops software to speed up the delivery of electronic market data to hedge funds and investment banks.

It has direct links to stock markets and has designed software so that the data can reach the financial institutions in milliseconds.

The company has received backing from Invest Northern Ireland, including a $700,000 grant to expand the Belfast operations in 2005. Last year it acquired Harco Technology, another financial services software firm with Belfast offices, which expanded its operations further.

Under the terms of the deal, NYSE Euronext, created from the merger of Europe's Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange last year, will acquire 100 per cent of Wombat for $200 million in cash and will also create a "retention pool" for employees.

Mr Moore was keen to highlight Wombat's links with Northern Ireland, and said 10 of the first 12 full-time employees in Wombat had links with Northern Ireland.

"Our plan is to build from the successes to date, and continue to provide a vehicle for top local talent to make their mark on the global financial markets."

The acquisition is a fillip for the software industry in Northern Ireland, which has developed a speciality in the areas of financial services and mobile.

Pioneering companies such as First Derivatives and Kainos have been joined in recent years by companies such as Wombat and Liberty IT, a subsidiary of US insurance giant Liberty Mutual. Last year Mr Moore said Wombat had chosen to locate its software engineering in Belfast as it was an ideal location between London and the US.

He said the rapid expansion of the software industry locally made it increasingly hard to find good local talent.

At that time he also pointed out that staff were being incentivised by stock options.

"Our peer companies are all being acquired for very healthy multiples," he told The Irish Times.

Wombat has over 100 customers worldwide, including some of the world's largest financial institutions such as Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns and Deutsche Bank. Merrill Lynch owned a minority equity stake in Wombat prior to the sale.

The transaction is expected to close early in the second quarter, and NYSE Euronext said it would add to its 2009 earnings.