ICE has ‘reasonably good chance’ of beating FTC in court, says Jefferies

After IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) and Black Knight (BKI) announced they have reached a deal to sell Empower to Constellation Software subject to ICE successfully closing the Black Knight transaction and the former renegotiated "what appears to be a lower acquisition price" of $75 per share versus $85 per share previously, Jefferies analyst Surinder Thind said the firm believes this was done in exchange for ICE committing to litigate any attempt by the FTC to block the deal. While the firm continues to believe the divestiture of Empower will not be a sufficient remedy for the FTC and thinks the FTC will move to block the deal, Jefferies contends that ICE "stands a reasonably good chance of winning in court." The firm has a Hold rating and $57 price target on Black Knight shares.