Davis Polk is advising MERSCORP Holdings, Inc., owner of Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems, Inc., on its acquisition by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, ICE and MERS have entered into a software development agreement to modernize and enhance the MERS System. The transaction is expected to close at the end of June. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

MERSCORP Holdings, Inc., a privately held corporation that owns and manages the MERS System and all other MERS products, is a member-based organization made up of thousands of lenders, servicers, sub-servicers, investors and government institutions. Intercontinental Exchange operates a leading network of global futures, equity and equity options exchanges, as well as global clearing and data services across financial and commodity markets.

The Davis Polk corporate team includes partner Louis Goldberg and associates Jesse Kramer and Albert Zhu. Partner Frank J. Azzopardi and counsel David R. Bauer are providing intellectual property and technology advice. Partner Avishai Shachar and associates Kay Ng and Anne L. Doherty are providing tax advice. Partner Kyoko Takahashi Lin is providing executive compensation advice. All members of the Davis Polk team are based in the New York office.