ICE Agrees to Buy Mortgage-Software Firm Ellie Mae

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. said in a statement it would acquire mortgage-software firm Ellie Mae. The deal is valued at about $11 billion, including $9.25 billion in newly issued debt and $1.75 billion in stock. It is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of 2020, pending regulatory approval. Ellie Mae’s technology has been used to help automate the closing of millions of home loans. Based in Pleasanton, Calif., the firm handles the technology that underpins the entire home-loan origination process, and its services are used in particular by loan officers who work at nonbank mortgage lenders. ICE executives said they expected Ellie Mae’s business to keep growing at a fast clip for the next decade.