Black Knight Origination Technologies Rebranded To Dark Matter

Black Knight Origination Technologies has rebranded to Dark Matter Technologies after being acquired by Perseus Operating Group.

Optimal Blue, Black Knight’s secondary market solutions and actionable data services business, was acquired by Perseus, part of Constellation Software Inc., in July. Dark Matter will remain in Florida and keep key executives.

“We’re excited to invest in this industry leader and to bring the impressive product roadmap to life. The leadership, the talented teams, the strong customer relationships — Dark Matter Technologies has everything we look for in an acquisition,” said Tom George, co-president of the Romulus portfolio of Perseus, who led the acquisition with Bonnie Wilhelm, COO of Perseus.

The sale of the unit follows Constellation’s acquisition of Black Knight’s loan-origination system business, Empower, in March, as well as its virtual AI assistant, AIVA, and its correspondent lending system, LendingSpace.

Dark Matter CEO Rich Gagliano said the organization plans to innovate new and existing products, including Empower, to revolutionize the mortgage origination business.

The name Dark Matter Technologies evokes the “invisible backbone” of the universe that holds galaxies together, reflecting the company’s goal to support client operations behind the scenes, leaders say.

“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,” said Gagliano.

“To that end, I’m proud to announce that our leadership team and 1,300+ employees will focus on a smooth, uneventful transition plan for our clients.”

The acquisition is the completion of promises made by Intercontinental Exchange earlier this year. Empower and Optimal Blue were sold to soothe anti-trust regulators who raised eyebrows at ICE’s plans to buy Black Knight.

If Black Knight had been sold as is, the deal would have “reduced competition in key areas of the mortgage origination process, raising costs for lenders and homebuyers,” regulators said.

After entering agreements to sell those two components to Constellation, the FTC voted to allow the acquisition.