Intercontinental Exchange has agreed to acquire mortgage data and software company Black Knight in an effort to expand its mortgage tech business, the companies announced Wednesday.

The deal values Black Knight at $13.1 billion — or $85 per share — and is expected to close in the first half of 2023, following approval by regulators and Black Knight stockholders, according to a news release. Both boards have signed off on the terms.

Black Knight Chairman and CEO Anthony Jabbour said in a statement that the move would offer further opportunities for both companies to 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,” Jabbour said in a statement.

By bringing Black Knight under its wing, Intercontinental Exchange said it would benefit from increased automation and efficiencies that would eventually be felt by homeowners. The move could lower the cost of obtaining mortgages and provide data that could help lower their monthly payments, the companies said in the release.

Black Knight, based in Jacksonville, employs 6,500 people and provides software, data and analysis services for clients throughout the mortgage industry. 

Intercontinental Exchange founder and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said the acquisition fits with his company’s mission of shedding light on once-opaque financial transactions. While Intercontinental Exchange operates a number of industries, its mortgage data business is a growing part of its operations.

“Black Knight shares our passion for leveraging technology to serve customers and households,” Sprecher said in the statement, “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.”

In the release, Intercontinental Exchange CEO Warren Gardiner said Black Knight’s growing revenue base would have a near-immediate impact on his company’s bottom line.

“Black Knight’s high-growth, recurring revenue stream will further complement our ‘all weather’ business model, while the strength of ICE’s balance sheet, and our combined cash flows, position this transaction to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first full year,” Gardiner said.

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