Kearny Financial Corp. agreed to acquire Central Jersey Bancorp for $72.3 million, a deal which will help Kearny expand in central New Jersey and add to its community banking expertise.
The $7.50 bid is more than double Central Jersey's Tuesday closing price of $3.08. The stock soared to $7.14 in recent premarket trading. Kearny shares closed Tuesday at $9.35 and were inactive premarket.
Kearny, a savings bank, expects the acquisition to add 5 cents a share to earnings in the first full year of combined operations. Kearny will add 13 branches to its 27-branch network. The deal is set to close in the fourth quarter.
Kearny had total assets of $2.25 billion as of March 31, while Central Jersey had $471.3 million.
The regional lenders have seen profits, improve with Kearny recovering from prior-year investment losses and Central Jersey avoiding adding to loan loss provisions in their latest quarter.
