F.N.B. to Buy Activist-Challenged OBA Financial in Maryland

F.N.B. Corp. (FNB) in Hermitage, Pa., has agreed to buy OBA Financial Services (OBAF) in Germantown, Md.

The $13.6 billion-asset F.N.B. will pay $94 million in stock for the $390 million-asset OBA Financial. F.N.B. has been an active acquirer in Maryland, buying BCSB Bancorp in Baltimore and Annapolis Bancorp. F.N.B. recently opened a regional office in Baltimore to oversee expansion in the state.

F.N.B. said in a press release Tuesday that the deal will add about 30 basis points to its tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio, along with six branches, $290 million in deposits and $300 million in loans.

OBA Financial had been facing pressure from veteran activist investor Lawrence Seidman, who has been urging the company to sell itself. Seidman has flagged the company's management for poor asset growth, lagging efficiency and "abysmal" returns on average assets and average equity.

"This transaction presents an opportunity to add scale to our Maryland region and efficiently provide capital that can be leveraged to support our future growth," Vincent Delie Jr., F.N.B.'s president and chief executive, said in the release. " With this acquisition, we will continue to leverage our investments in the market and gain access to additional high-growth areas that will further strengthen our organic growth potential."

F.N.B. said it expects to complete the acquisition in the third quarter.

RBC Capital Markets and Reed Smith advised F.N.B. Sterne Agee & Leach and Luse Gorman Pomerenk & Schick advised OBA Financial.

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