Hubco Withdraws Bid After Tepid Reception

Hubco backed away from its offer to acquire another New Jersey bank after getting a lukewarm reception from the target.

Broad National Bancorp., a $533 million-asset Newark holding company for Broad National Bank, said it received an offer from Mahwah-based Hubco on Friday for a stock transaction worth about $20 a share, or $95.5 million.

According to Donald M. Karp, chairman and chief executive officer, 15- branch Broad National had not decided if a sale was preferable to remaining independent "at this time," and informed Hubco that if it did enter negotiations for a sale it would entertain offers from other buyers as well.

Mr. Karp said no other offers were on the table, but said the prospect of potential competition for Broad led Hubco to withdraw its offer Monday. Broad's shares surged 5.3% on Monday, gaining $1.75 to $15.75, a 52-week high.

Hubco chief executive officer Kenneth T. Neilson said he had tried to open merger discussions privately. "Once we knew they were going to make our proposed discussions public, we decided to withdraw ," he said.

Broad has 15 branches in Union, Essex, Morris, Hudson, and Middlesex counties in northern New Jersey. Hubco has more than tripled its assets to $3.1 billion in recent years through a string of acquisitions in the Northeast.

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