In Brief: Shoreline of Michigan Plans to Buy Rival SJS

Shoreline Financial Corp. has agreed to buy a small local rival for $25.4 million in cash.

Shoreline Financial, which has $708.9 million in assets, expects to pay $27 per share for St. Joseph-based SJS Bancorp, or 1.6 times its book value.

The total value of the transaction is about $25.4 million.

"This in-market merger will significantly increase our presence in St. Joseph and will strengthen our ability to provide retail banking services in that market," Shoreline chief executive Dan L. Smith said in a statement.

The deal, which is expected to be finished by the middle of 1997, would create an $861 million-asset institution.

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