The Bank of New York is acquiring privately owned Sonic Trading, a direct access broker with a trading technology solutions division, according to industry sources.

According to one source, Sonic will come under the wing of BNY Brokerage, the agency brokerage unit of BNY Securities Group. BNY Brokerage's Nasdaq desk is headed by SVP Craig Viani, who came to the firm from technology-savvy ITG.

Executives from the Bank of New York and Sonic Trading declined comment.

BNY Brokerage, which describes itself as part of the new breed of institutional agency brokers, has been in an acquisition mode, buying Capital Resource Financial Services to boost its commission recapture business.

Sonic Trading offers a full slate of trading features that allow buy-side investors to implement complex strategies and lessen the market impact of large orders. Those features are expected to play a growing role in trading if the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed Regulation NMS reforms go into effect, in particular for listed stocks.

The agreement between the two parties was reached on Tuesday, sources said, although Sonic is still the focus of patent infringement litigation filed by Lava Trading, the financial technology firm that developed direct access trading for the sell-side. Lava, which claims exclusive rights to the concept of a montage, is also suing London’s royalblue for the same alleged violation of its patented "Securities Trading System for Consolidation of Trading on Multiple ECNs and Electronic Exchanges."