ICE’s acquisition of Black Knight Financial Systems (one of the largest M&A deals of 2023)

One of the year’s most significant mergers and acquisitions was ICE’s purchase of Black Knight Financial. The $11.9 billion deal closed in September of 2023, making Black Knight a part of ICE. ICE is an Atlanta-based electronic exchange that trades in futures, swaps, OTC markets, stocks, FOREX, and more, as well as having a mortgage origination system and software lending tools. Black Knight, on the other hand, provides integrated technology, services, data, and analytics to the mortgage lending, servicing, and real estate industries and capital and secondary markets. The FTC initially blocked the deal in March, citing concerns about the merged company’s market share in the mortgage technology market. However, the FTC withdrew its objections after Black Knight divested two business units, and the deal was allowed to proceed.