A new company, Dark Matter Technologies, has been formed from the remnants of Black Knight that were sold to a subsidiary of Constellation Software.
The establishment of Dark Matter was announced as a rebrand after two key operations of Black Knight — the Empower loan origination software suite and the Optimal Blue product and pricing engine — were divested to Toronto-based Constellation. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Black Knight agreed to sell the two divisions to appease antitrust concerns, which led the Federal Trade Commission to initially challenge the merger between the two companies.
With ICE’s acquisition of Black Knight becoming official earlier this month, ICE and Constellation announced the closing of the sale of Black Knight’s assets this week.
Now part of Constellation’s Perseus Operating Group, Dark Matter Technologies has a new name as well as a new CEO in Rich Gagliano, previously Black Knight’s president of origination technologies. Coming with Gagliano are several former Black Knight executives, including chief operating officer Peggy Milbourn, chief financial officer Bill Warden, chief revenue officer Sean Dugan, chief administrative officer Andria James and chief strategy officer Frank Poiesz.
According to Gagliano, the organization is on a mission to revolutionize the origination business via innovative products under its umbrella, including Empower and Aiva, a virtual assistant that uses artificial intelligence to aid in repetitive manual tasks within the loan origination process.
“We understand that our existing long-term client relationships extend far beyond innovative technology; our clients rely heavily on our team’s unique knowledge and experience to enable their success,” Gagliano said. “To that end, I’m proud to announce that our leadership team and 1,300-plus employees will focus on a smooth, uneventful transition plan for our clients.”
“We’re excited to invest in this industry leader and to bring the impressive product road map to life,” added Tom George, co-president of the Romulus portfolio of Perseus Operating Group. “The leadership, the talented teams, the strong customer relationships — Dark Matter Technologies has everything we look for in an acquisition.”
