Fulton Financial to buy activist-challenged Blue Foundry in New Jersey
Fulton Financial in Lancaster, Pa., has agreed to buy Blue Foundry Bancorp in Rutherford, N.J.
The $32 billion-asset Fulton said in a press release that it will pay $243 million in stock for the $2.2 billion-asset Blue Foundry. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced Blue Foundry at 77% of its tangible book value.
The deal is expected to be more than 5% accretive to Fulton’s earnings per share. It should be immediately accretive to tangible book value per share.
“We’re bringing together two community-focused banks with shared values and a strong commitment to making banking personal for each and every customer,” Curtis Myers, Fulton’s chairman and CEO, said in the release.
The acquisition “creates an opportunity to leverage Fulton’s robust banking services and provide greater convenience and innovative solutions to an expanded customer base, with a continued focus on supporting our local communities,” Myers added. “The expansion in northern New Jersey aligns with our strategy of growing in our local markets and positions us well to drive organic growth across our commercial, consumer, wealth advisory, and mortgage businesses.”
Fulton plans to cut half of Blue Foundry’s annual operating expenses, or $27. 4 million. It expects to incur $48.5 million of merger-related expenses.