ConnectOne in New Jersey Files for $46 Million IPO

The recently renamed ConnectOne Bancorp in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has filed to raise up to $46 million through an initial public offering.

The $884 million-asset company said in a regulatory filing that it plans to sell 1.6 million shares of common stock for $26 to $29 a share. ConnectOne, which last month changed its name from North Jersey Community Bancorp, has eight branches in northern New Jersey.

ConnectOne said in its filing that it could use proceeds from the IPO to acquire banks or other financial institutions and to support growth in its bank's loan and investment portfolios.

The IPO market for banks has been choppy. Capital Bank Financial (CBF) in Coral Gables, Fla. and National Bank Holdings (NBHC) in Greenwood, Colo., sold shares in September at prices that were lower than their original projections. EverBank Financial (EVER) in Jacksonville, Fla., lowered its offering price twice before finally going public.

The $2.7 billion-asset Customers Bancorp of Wyomissing, Pa., in May canceled its IPO and later raised $100 million through private placement offerings.

Stifel, Nicolaus is advising ConnectOne on the IPO. Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf is the company's legal adviser.