Statement re Potential Acquisition

3 February 2010

First Derivatives plc

("First Derivatives", "FDP" or "the "Company")

Potential acquisition

First Derivatives (AIM: FDP.L, IEX:GYQ.I), a global technology and service provider to the capital markets industry, today announces that it has entered an exclusivity agreement with Kieran Wallace of KPMG, the appointed receiver of Cognotec Holdings Limited (In Receivership) ("Cognotec"), with the intention that FDP will acquire certain of the business and assets of the Cognotec group of companies (the "Asset Purchase").

Cognotec is a Dublin based company delivering sophisticated, flexible and component-based technology products to the FX market. It was placed into receivership on 22 January 2010.

Cognotec was founded 20 years ago and now has operations in Dublin, London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo. The company's AutoDeal+ product, a leading FX pricing and execution engine is widely used throughout the world. More recently, the company has successfully deployed its RealStream product set, an extensive "next generation" product technology suite for the FX market. RealStream delivers direct access to the world's top 15 FX liquidity providers and is already in use at some of the world's largest global FX market players. In the year to 30 November 2008 Cognotec generated revenues of $18.5m and reported a loss before tax of $1.8 million.

Subject to due diligence First Derivatives expects to be able to finalise terms and complete the Asset Purchase within the next few days, at which point the Company will make a further announcement.

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