Ellie Mae (ELLI) has signed an agreement to acquire Mortgage Returns, a provider of on-demand customer relationship management and marketing automation solutions for the mortgage industry.

Mortgage Returns was designed to provide an automated marketing solution to help mortgage originators maximize profitability from clients, prospects and referral partners. The company serves nearly 200 financial institutions.

"Together, we are poised to deliver a complete solution to our customers that will fuel change, enable massive efficiencies and provide a truly complete CRM offering," said Jim Blatt, president and co-founder of Mortgage Returns.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015.