DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–An affiliate of Paceline Equity Partners, LLC, a Dallas-based private equity manager, today announced that it has made a debt investment in a subsidiary of Constellation Software, Inc. (TSX: CSU). Constellation acquires, manages and builds vertical market software businesses that provide mission-critical software solutions.
As publicly announced on July 17, 2023, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) and Black Knight, Inc. entered into a merger agreement pursuant to which they also agreed to sell Black Knight’s business known as Optimal Blue to a subsidiary of Constellation. The structure of the proposed transaction included a cash payment by Constellation to Black Knight, as a subsidiary of ICE, with the remainder financed by a $500 million promissory note payable to an affiliate Black Knight. In order to secure regulatory clearance for the merger and the sale of Optimal Blue, this promissory note was required to be sold, and, as a result, Paceline has acquired this promissory note.
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Plano, Texas, Optimal Blue is a leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology, facilitating more than $1.1 trillion in mortgage locking and trading transactions annually. Its technology and data solutions are relied on by thousands of lenders and brokers, and hundreds of investors, as well as government agencies, think tanks, and others. The Company’s solutions are used by 68% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S.
“We are excited to support Optimal Blue in the continued growth of its market-leading platform under the ownership of Constellation,” said Sam Loughlin, Chief Executive Officer of Paceline. “We believe our past experience investing in the mortgage industry previously enabled us to move quickly and provide certainty of closing.”
Leigh Sansone, Chief Investment Officer of Paceline, added “Paceline’s leadership has extensive experience investing in the mortgage industry, having managed one of the nation’s largest non-bank mortgage originators. From that experience, we were able to quickly develop an understanding of the market in which the Company operates, which allowed us to gain conviction in this investment opportunity.”
About Paceline Equity Partners
Paceline is a Dallas-based private equity manager focused on value-oriented, opportunistic, and special situations investments across corporate credit, real assets, and private equity. Paceline’s senior leadership team members average 20 years of professional experience. Prior to the formation of Paceline, the senior leadership team worked together for approximately 10 years at a global private equity manager and its affiliates. To learn more, please visit www.pacelineequity.com.
