Valley National Bancorp of New Jersey and Westchester Bank Holding Corp. announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement.
Westchester Bank Holding Corp. is the parent company of The Westchester Bank, the largest independent, commercially focused bank headquartered in Westchester County.
Westchester Bank Holding Co. has assets totaling $1.3 billion, over $0.9 billion in loans and over $1.1 billion in total deposits. It has seven branches.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. With current numbers, the combined company would have over $43 billion in assets, $34 billion of loans and $34 billion of deposits, with 233 branches across several states.
“We are thrilled about our new partnership with Valley and the opportunities for growth that it will provide for our employees and customers,” said John Tolomer, president and CEO of Westchester Bank.
“The infrastructure and culture that has been built at Valley over the past few years will enable our customers to access a robust product offering while still receiving access to the local decision making and exceptional service they have become accustomed to at The Westchester Bank.”
After the merger, Tolomer will become market president at Valley National Bancorp, leading the company’s efforts in Westchester.
Valley National Bancorp said it entered into the acquisition to have a greater footprint and additional commercial lending expertise in the Westchester area market.
“Westchester”™s conservative credit culture and high-touch approach to commercial banking align extremely well with Valley”™s own value proposition,” said Ira Robbins, chairman, president and CEO of Valley.
“We look forward to having John and his team join Valley where they will continue to drive growth in the Westchester County market that they know so well. The ability to offer Valley”™s comprehensive suite of financial solutions to Westchester”™s commercial customers, along with the support of our larger balance sheet and significant capital resources, should drive meaningful growth for Valley in the Westchester County market.”
Westchester Bank stockholders will receive 229.645 shares of Valley common stock for each share of Westchester common stock they own ”” approximately $210 million in shares, based on current values.
