FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2023 

CONTACT: Ashley Woolheater, woolheater@openmarketsinstitute.org 

WASHINGTON - Open Markets Executive Director Barry Lynn released the following statement on the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to oppose Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) $13 billion takeover of prominent mortgage data company Black Knight. 

“The FTC’s move to block financial services giant Intercontinental Exchange from taking over mortgage data company Black Knight, is a strong, necessary step to prevent the consolidation of financial information services and trading power. Vertical integration between financial services companies and the information and data services sector that supplies trusted, independent information to inform trades undermines the stability of the marketplace and promotes unfair and dangerous concentration of power and control.”

“While we applaud the FTC’s decision to step in to prevent the takeover, we also urge U.S. financial regulators, which also have ample authority to protect open and stable markets, to do a better job of protecting financial markets from this kind of risky consolidation.” 

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The Open Markets Institute is a team of journalists, researchers, lawyers, economists, and advocates working together to expose and reverse the stranglehold that corporate monopolies have on our country.  Learn more at www.openmarketsinstitute.org.