Northfield Bancorp in Woodbridge, N.J., has agreed to buy Hopewell Valley Community Bank in Pennington, N.J.
The $3.2 billion-asset Northfield said in a press release Wednesday that it will pay $54.9 million in cash and stock for the $400 million-asset Hopewell Valley. Northfield also plans to redeem preferred stock that Hopewell Valley issued under the Small Business Lending Fund. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter.
"Hopewell Valley is a strong, commercially-focused, community bank, and we are very pleased with the opportunities this acquisition presents," John Alexander, Northfield's chairman and chief executive, said in the release. "This merger will establish an important presence for Northfield in western New Jersey, and it complements and adds strategically to our franchise."
The deal values Hopewell Valley at around 147% of its tangible book value. The transaction is expected to reduce Northfield's tangible book value per share by about 3%, with expected earnings per share accretion of roughly 14%.
Jefferies and Luse Gorman advised Northfield. Sandler O'Neill and Windels, Marx, Lane & Mittendorf advised Hopewell Valley.
