The United States Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it is taking action to block the proposed merger between Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) and Black Knight, Inc, claiming the deal would harm competition in the home mortgage loan origination systems market.
"This deal would reduce competition in key areas of the mortgage process, ultimately raising costs for lenders and homebuyers. The FTC will intervene when illegal mergers risk harming competition in such critical markets," said Patty Brink, acting deputy director of the Bureau of Competition.
In July 2022, ICE reached a deal to acquire Black Knight for $13.1 billion. Earlier this week, it decided to sell Black Knight's Empower loan origination system (LOS) business in an effort to secure regulatory approval for their merger.
