(Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has agreed to dismiss a federal court case against Intercontinental Exchange's (ICE) $11.7 billion proposed acquisition of Black Knight, easing the regulatory path for the companies to close their deal.
On Monday, New York Stock Exchange-owner ICE and mortgage data vendor Black Knight said the joint agreement will allow them to continue working toward a final settlement agreement with the FTC.
Shares of Black Knight rose 4.7% to $74.89 in premarket trading. They have gained over 12% since the deal was first announced in May, as of their last close.
The agreement clears a major regulatory hurdle for ICE and Black Knight, which had been struggling to get a green light from regulators.
In March, the FTC vowed to take action against the exchange owner's deal for Black Knight after some U.S. lawmakers warned that the pricing power ICE would gain in the mortgage data market could lead to higher costs for consumers.
ICE has clinched several deals in recent years as it looks to expand beyond its core exchanges business. In 2020, it bought mortgage technology platform Ellie Mae in an $11 billion deal.
A year before that, it had also bought Simplifile in a $335 million deal.
Black Knight agreed to shed two of its units to ease the FTC's concerns but had said it was willing to go to court to save the deal if necessary.
The parties involved will look to come to mutually acceptable terms by Aug. 25.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
