The Bank of Princeton in New Jersey has filed its application to acquire Noah Bank in Elkins Park, Pa.
The $1.6 billion-asset Bank of Princeton applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Nov. 23 to buy the $275 million-asset Noah.
Bank of Prince agreed to buy Noah in late October in an all-cash deal valued at $25.4 million, or $6 a share. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced Noah at 79.7% of its tangible book value.
Noah, which has five branches, has historically focused on Asian-American communities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
Bank of Princeton said it should take a year to earn back an estimated 3% dilution to its tangible book value. The deal should be accretive to Bank of Princeton’s earnings per share in the first full year after closing.
The purchase price would be lowered if Noah’s shareholders’ equity and loan-loss allowance are below $37.1 million two days before closing. Those items totaled $37.6 million on June 30.
The acquisition provides “an excellent opportunity to expand in markets that are a key part of our long-term strategy, while doing so in a manner that is minimally dilutive to tangible book value and accretive to our earnings,” Edward Dietzler, Bank of Princeton’s president and CEO, said in a press release announcing the deal.
“It provides a great opportunity to combine two community banks that share a deep commitment to their local markets and gives us a branch presence in northern New Jersey and New York City, where we already do substantial lending,” Dietzler added.
Bank of Princeton is looking to form Princeton Bancorp, a bank holding company, in a process that should be completed in the first quarter.
Edward Shin, a former Noah CEO, was convicted earlier this year on charges of accepting bribes tied to loans made through the Small Business Administration between 2009 and 2013. A jury found Shin, who was arrested in 2019, guilty of charges that included bank bribery, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and theft of funds by a bank officer.