New Alliance Bancorp in New Haven, Conn., has a deal to acquire Cornerstone Bancorp Inc. of Stamford for $48.7 million in stock and cash.
Peyton R. Patterson, New Alliance’s chairman and chief executive officer, has talked for more than a year about expanding into Fairfield County, one of three in the state where it has no operations.
The deal for Cornerstone, announced Wednesday, would give New Alliance $214 million of additional assets, seven more branches, and a new senior executive to run its commercial lending operation there.
Fairfield is one of the wealthiest counties in the country, with a median household income of over $65,000, according to the Census Bureau.
Cornerstone shareholders would receive either 2.518 shares of New Alliance or $35 in cash for each of their shares. New Alliance said the price is 1.97 times Cornerstone’s book value and a 10% premium over the stock’s closing price Tuesday.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. Cornerstone’s president and chief executive, Merrill J. Forgotson, would become a senior vice president at New Alliance and the head of Fairfield County business banking.
At yearend New Alliance had $6.4 billion of assets and 64 branches in Hartford, Tolland, Windham, Middlesex, and New Haven counties.
