US FTC agrees to dismiss case against ICE's $11.7 billion Black Knight deal
Reuters
Published Aug 07, 2023 07:55AM ET
Updated Aug 07, 2023 11:41AM ET
(Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday told a federal court it wanted to drop its lawsuit against a proposed $11.7 billion proposed acquisition of data vendor Black Knight (NYSE:BKI) by NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), as the sides try to negotiate a settlement to close the deal.
The companies and the FTC filed a joint request to a federal court seeking dismissal of an FTC lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal. The case had been set to go to trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Aug. 14.
Shares of Black Knight rose 4.5% to $74.72 on Monday, after gaining more than 12% since the deal was announced in May 2022. ICE was up 1.4% and was trading at $115.58.
In March, the FTC said it wanted to stop the deal, citing concern ICE would gain so much power in the mortgage data market that costs would rise for consumers and innovation would suffer.
The agency had also filed a complaint before an internal administrative law judge. It withdrew that complaint from adjudication in July.
Black Knight said in mid-July, in response to FTC concerns, that it would sell its Optimal Blue business for $700 million. Optimal Blue provides data and technology to price and trade mortgages.
Black Knight had previously said it would sell its Empower loan origination system business. Canadian business software firm Constellation Software is to buy both divested assets.
ICE has clinched several deals in recent years to expand beyond its core exchanges business. In 2020, it bought mortgage technology platform Ellie Mae in an $11 billion deal.
A year before that, it had also bought Simplifile in a $335 million deal.
The parties involved will look to come to mutually acceptable terms by Aug. 25.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.