Intercontinental Exchange To Scoop Black Knight At 34% Premium

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc ICE agreed to acquire Black Knight, Inc BKI in a cash and stock transaction values Black Knight at $85 per share or a market value of $13.1 billion. The offer price implies a 33.6% premium to BKI's May 3 closing of $63.63.

The transaction builds on ICE's position as a provider of end-to-end electronic workflow solutions for the rapidly evolving U.S. residential mortgage industry.

The combination will improve the mortgage lending process for borrowers and lenders by increasing automation and efficiencies that lower the cost of obtaining a mortgage while harnessing data that can help current homeowners reduce their monthly payments and lessen the likelihood of default.

BKI is a software, data, and analytics company that serves the housing finance continuum. ICE is a leading global data, technology, and market infrastructure provider.

ICE Chair and CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher said, "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."

BKI Chair and CEO Anthony M. Jabbour said, "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."

ICE held $147.98 billion in cash and equivalents as of December 31.

Price Action: BKI shares closed higher by 14.7% at $72.95 on Wednesday.

Photo by Josh Hallet via Flickr