Shareholders of the publicly-listed software, data and analytics company will get $85 per share from Intercontinental Exchange, of which 80% will be in cash, and 20% will be in the form of stock
Black Knight to be acquired by Intercontinental Exchange. (Credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has agreed to acquire Black Knight, a Florida-based mortgage software company, in a cash and stock deal worth $13.1bn.
Black Knight caters to the housing finance continuum, which includes real estate data, mortgage lending and servicing, and the secondary markets. It has a workforce of nearly 6,500 people.
Businesses are said to use the company’s integrated solutions across the complete homeownership life cycle so that they can retain existing customers, get new customers, mitigate risk, and operate in a more effective manner.
Last month, Black Knight introduced a new tool called CA Risk Profiler Plus to help mortgage lenders, appraisers, and appraisal management firms identify potential minority bias in the home valuation process.
As per the terms of the deal with Intercontinental Exchange, shareholders of the publicly-listed software, data and analytics company will get $85 per share, of which 80% will be in cash, and 20% will be in the form of stock. This includes $10.5bn in cash and nearly $2.6bn worth shares of Intercontinental Exchange.
The agreement has been approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both firms.
Black Knight chairman and CEO Anthony Jabbour said: “Black Knight and ICE share a common vision and commitment to deliver a better experience for our clients and the stakeholders we serve, and to ultimately streamline the homeownership process.
“By combining our expertise, we can deliver significant benefits to our clients and consumers by improving and streamlining the process of finding a home, as well as obtaining and managing a mortgage.”
The addition of Black Knight’s technology solutions, real estate and mortgage-related data assets, analytics, and its teams will complement and bolster its growing mortgage technology business, said Intercontinental Exchange.
Furthermore, Intercontinental Exchange said that the combination will drive improvements in the mortgage lending process for borrowers and lenders by boosting automation and efficiencies that reduce the cost of getting a mortgage.
At the same time, leveraging data can help current homeowners bring down their monthly payments and decrease the chances of default.
Intercontinental Exchange founder, chair and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said: “Since our founding in 2000, ICE’s simple mission has been to make analog and opaque financial transactions more digital and transparent, beginning with commodity markets, extending across a large array of asset classes, and most recently working to help streamline the mortgage industry.
“Black Knight shares our passion for leveraging technology to serve customers and households, and, with our expertise in operating networks and marketplaces, our planned acquisition will bring to life a true end-to-end solution for the mortgage manufacturing and servicing ecosystem, benefitting aspiring and current homeowners across the United States.”
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, Black Knight stockholder approval, and other customary conditions, is anticipated to close in the first half of next year.