Intercontinental Exchange, an operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of mortgage technology, data and listing services, plans to acquire mortgage originations software firm Ellie Mae for $11 billion.
That’s nearly three times the $3.7 billion that private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo paid for Ellie Mae a little over a year ago.
The deal is still subject to the usual regulatory approvals.
The acquisition of Ellie Mae means ICE will be able to deliver solutions across the entire mortgage value chain, from origination to post-closing, as it already owns MERS and Simplifile.
Ellie Mae, based in Pleasanton, Calif., has approximately 1,700 employees. The firm was founded in 1997 with a mission to automate and digitize the trillion-dollar residential mortgage industry.
“Twenty years after we founded Intercontinental Exchange to provide a transparent trading platform for the energy industry, and following two decades of providing continued innovation to help customers navigate global markets, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of Ellie Mae, which will help us similarly transform the mortgage marketplace,” says Jeffrey C. Sprecher, founder, chairman and CEO of ICE, in a release. “Our planned acquisition represents a one-of-a-kind opportunity to add an extraordinary enterprise with great leadership to our family. It will also enhance ICE’s growth strategy in mortgage technology, with complementary products and a wide array of customers and stakeholders who will benefit from our core and proven expertise in operating networks and marketplaces.”
“We are excited to be joining the Intercontinental Exchange family and having the opportunity to work closely with Simplifile and MERS in helping our industry to realize the true digital mortgage,” adds Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae. “We have been on a journey, as we have long said, ‘to automate everything automatable’ for the mortgage industry, and joining ICE, which has followed a parallel journey in global exchanges, will allow us to further accelerate realizing our vision.
“We also greatly appreciate, and have significantly benefited from, the operational and strategic support from Thoma Bravo,“ Corr adds. “They were instrumental in helping us achieve this outcome, which is a great one for our customers and the industry in general.”