Verisk has terminated its previously announced agreement to acquire AccuLynx for $2.35 billion in cash, citing delays in regulatory review by the Federal Trade Commission.
In a statement released Dec. 29, Verisk said the FTC did not complete its review of the transaction by the Dec. 26 termination date specified in the merger agreement, prompting the company to end the deal. The acquisition, first announced in July, was intended to expand Verisk’s network and data capabilities across the insurance claims and property restoration sectors.
As a result of the termination, Verisk also announced plans to redeem $1.50 billion in senior notes that were issued in connection with the planned acquisition. The notes will be redeemed at 101% of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, in accordance with a special mandatory redemption provision tied to the deal’s completion.
Despite the termination, Verisk emphasized its ongoing capital allocation strategy. As of Sept. 30, the company reported $1.2 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization.
“Verisk remains committed to our capital allocation discipline – balancing organic investment in our highest return on capital opportunities while returning capital to shareholders through dividend and repurchases,” said Lee Shavel, president and CEO of Verisk. “We continue to have confidence in our ability to deliver results in line with our long-term growth targets for this year, for 2026 and beyond.”
AccuLynx, however, has disputed the termination. The company notified Verisk that it believes the termination of the merger agreement is invalid. Verisk said it strongly disagrees and intends to “vigorously defend” against any such claims.
The acquisition was expected to enhance Verisk’s revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margin, and to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share by the end of 2026. AccuLynx’s software-as-a-service platform provides business management workflows for residential property contractors, with a strong focus on roofing. Its roofing materials and labor datasets were expected to complement Verisk’s property estimating solutions, while creating opportunities for cross-selling, upselling, and expanded data analytics across overlapping customer bases of insurers, adjusters, and contractors.
At the time the deal was announced, Shavel described AccuLynx as “a natural fit and extension” of Verisk’s existing property estimating solutions.
Following the announcement, Verisk shares rose $4.68, or 2.2%, to $225.03 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Despite the gain, the stock is down 18.3% year to date. Verisk currently has a market capitalization of approximately $31.4 billion.
