The announcement comes less than 17 months after the company was bought by private equity firm Thoma Bravo
Ellie Mae has announced that it will be acquired by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), an operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of mortgage technology and data listing services. The acquisition values Ellie Mae at approximately $11 billion.
The announcement comes just under 17 months after Ellie Mae was acquired by Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm, for $3.7 billion. In 2016, ICE took a majority stake in MERS, acquiring the remainder in 2018. Last year, the company bought Simplifile for $335 million.
“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,” said Jeffrey D. Sprecher, founder, chairman and CEO of ICE. “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,” said 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. They were instrumental in helping us achieve this outcome, which is a great one for our customers and the industry in general.”
Ellie Mae is based in California and has approximately 1,700 employees. It was founded in 1997 and provides technology services to the mortgage industry.
