Verisk said it strongly disagrees with a Delaware Chancery Court ruling that found the company wasn't entitled to terminate its acquisition of AccuLynx.

The data analytics and technology provider last summer reached a deal to buy AccuLynx, a cloud‑based project management tool for roofing contractors, for $2.35 billion in cash.

However, Verisk cancelled the planned acquisition in December, alleging that the Federal Trade Commission didn't complete its review of the transaction by the Dec. 26 deadline stipulated in the contract. AccuLynx later argued the termination was invalid.

Delaware Chancery Court in a ruling on Friday agreed with AccuLynx.

Before Verisk had agreed to buy AccuLynx last summer, the company was engaged in discussions for an enhanced integration with ServiceTitan, a competitor of AccuLynx, court documents state.

When Verisk agreed to the AccuLynx merger, it decided to end discussions with ServiceTitan and negotiate a standard integration instead. ServiceTitan told the FTC about the aborted agreement, which caused the FTC to develop a "market reset" theory of anti-competitive behavior.

"The FTC posited that after the merger, Verisk might develop a new, more sophisticated pricing integration for AccuLynx that it would not offer to AccuLynx's competitors, thereby foreclosing AccuLynx competitors from effectively competing in the market for roofer business management software," the ruling reads.

When the FTC asked Verisk if it had terminated integration agreements with AccuLynx rivals, Verisk -- unaware of ServiceTitan's message to the FTC -- said it had not, according to court documents.

Verisk's outside counsel eventually learned of Verisk's discussions with ServiceTitan and disclosed them to the FTC, at which point the commission issued a "second request" focused on Verisk's integrations.

"Verisk undertook an extensive document search under a quick look agreement in an effort to obviate the second request, but the FTC ultimately decided that it would require full compliance with the second request," the ruling states. "Days after the FTC made that decision, Verisk purported to terminate the merger agreement on the extended termination date."

The court ultimately ruled that Verisk must use "commercially reasonable efforts" to obtain regulatory approval, and it said that AccuLynx is entitled to damages for direct costs with interest.

"We appreciate the expedited response from the court but strongly disagree with the decision," Verisk said Monday. "It is possible to appeal, among other next steps, and we are evaluating our options at this time."