BKI - Maxine Waters pushes for FTC robust review of ICE-Black Knight deal

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) is urging the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a robust review of Intercontinental Exchange's ( NYSE: ICE ) planned purchase of Black Knight ( NYSE: BKI ).

The chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee expressed worried about potential effects of the deal on consumers, including higher prices in the overall housing and mortgage markets, according to a Wednesday letter sent to FTC antirust chief Lina Khan.

"If this deal closed as proposed, the resulting conglomerate could exert significant market power over loan pricing for consumers, access to and sale of consumer data, and mortgage software pricing,"  Waters said in a statement.

The letter comes as analysts initially said when the deal was announced in early May that the combination could be problematic from an antitrust perspective. ICE last  month said it c ertified its compliance with the FTC in regards to Black Knight.

Last month Bank of America upgraded ICE to buy at least partly due to its planned $13 billion acquisition of Black Knight ( BKI ). BofA believes that ICE ( ICE ) will likely capitulate on divesting Empower to appease potential antitrust concerns.

BofA analyst Craig Siegenthaler, who raised his price target on ICE to $132 from $116, also sees a positive scenario for ICE if it decides to abandon the transaction. He expects that BKI would trade around $50/share if the deal falls apart.

Also see SA contributor Add Value's piece from late October entitled "Black Knight: Merger Or No Merger, Buy."

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