Hubco Inc., the acquisition machine from northern New Jersey, is making another foray into southern Connecticut.
The Mahwah, N.J.-based company has agreed to buy Boston-based UST Corp.'s subsidiary in Connecticut for about $13 million in cash.
It is Hubco's fourth purchase agreement this year in that state.
Combined with pending deals to buy Westport Bancorp, Lafayette American Bank and Trust Co. in Bridgeport, and Darien-based Hometown Bancorp, the new agreement would give Hubco more than $3 billion of assets, including $1.3 billion in Connecticut.
"It's keeping us very busy," said chairman and chief executive Kenneth T. Neilson, "but we think that we're building some good shareholder value in a very attractive area of Connecticut."
Neal T. Finnegan, president and chief executive of UST, said the sale lets his $2 billion-asset company concentrate on growth at its Boston subsidiary, USTrust, which is buying 20 BayBanks and Bank of Boston branches with $860 million of deposits.
Under the transaction, Hubco will pay cash equal to UST Bank/Connecticut's capital, plus a 7% deposit premium for the $112 million- asset unit. The UST subsidiary has $63 million of loans, $100 million of deposits, and four branches in Fairfield County just outside New York City.
The merger is subject to regulatory approval.
