. It took 15 months, two divestitures and an 11% price cut, but it’s at least a small sign that trustbusters are willing to concede sometimes.Black Knight for $13.1 billion. The problem: both companies sell software to housing lenders. ICE’s Encompass processes nearly half of originations in the United States, with Black Knight’s Empower in second place, according to the FTC. Where pricing is concerned, the situation is reversed; Black Knight’s Optimal Blue leads.
Such fixes used to be commonplace, typically negotiated with regulators to ensure they met a sufficient standard. Khan has said this “is not work that the agency should have to do,” recently sticking true to her word and opting to litigate instead of settle. Khan had a stronger hand against ICE than in other high-profile cases because it’s a relatively straightforward combination of head-to-head competitors. As such, the two sides had to give up plenty. After the FTC’spointed out that the Empower sale did not fix the overlap in pricing software, they agreed in July to sell Optimal Blue.