ICE cuts tortuous path through frosty trustbusters

Black Knight

07/08/2023 17:50

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Jonathan Guilford
       NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It took 15
months, two divestitures and an 11% discount, but Black Knight’s
$12 bln sale to the NYSE operator is set to close after deal
enforcers dropped a lawsuit. It’s a small sign that even FTC
chief Lina Khan can see clear to settle, if merger participants
concede enough.
    Full view will be published shortly.
    Follow @JMAGuilford on Twitter
    
    CONTEXT NEWS
    Intercontinental Exchange, the operator of the New York
Stock Exchange, said on Aug. 7 that the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission had agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against the
company’s $11.7 billion acquisition of Black Knight, which also
provides technology services to mortgage lenders. The parties
have now entered into settlement negotiations, with ICE agreeing
not to close the transaction for 10 days.
    ICE originally said on May 4, 2022, that it had agreed to
buy Black Knight for $13.1 billion. The two sides renegotiated
the price tag after divesting the seller’s Empower business in
March to address antitrust concerns. They subsequently agreed to
also sell Black Knight’s Optimal Blue to the same buyer,
Canadian firm Constellation Software, in July.

 (Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb and Oliver Taslic)
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