1ST Constitution Bank has received regulatory approval from New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance to acquire Shore Community Bank.
In June this year, 1ST Constitution Bank and Shore Community Bank signed an agreement pursuant to which 1ST Constitution Bank will acquire each share of Shore Community Bank for $16.54 (£13.4) totalling $53.1m (£43m).
The merger was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both banks and is expected to be completed in November this year after receiving shareholder approval.
Shore Community Bank, which has five banking offices across northern and central Ocean County, is headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. It serves customers and communities through five full-service locations in Toms River (3), Jackson and Manahawkin, New Jersey.
As of March-end 2019, the bank had assets of $274m (£222.6m), loans of $212m (£172m) and deposits of $240m (£195m).
After completion of the merger, 1ST Constitution Bank is expected to have $1.5bn (£1.22bn) in assets, $1.1bn (£894m) of loans and $1.2bn (£975m) of deposits. It has 26 full-service banking offices located in Bergen, Middlesex, Monmouth, Mercer, Ocean and Somerset Counties, New Jersey.
Shore shareholders will receive 0.8786 of shares in 1ST Constitution bank for each of their shares
The merger agreement also stipulates that shareholders of Shore Community Bank will receive 0.8786 of shares in 1ST Constitution bank for each share of Shore Community Bank.
1ST Constitution expects to issue 1,509,348 new shares as part of the merger. The transaction will be a mix of 55% in stock and 45% in cash.
When the deal was announced in June, 1ST Constitution Bancorp president and CEO Robert Mangano said: “We are pleased to be combining with Shore Community Bank and expanding our presence into several new markets in Ocean County. Northern and Central Ocean County represent attractive markets with desirable demographic characteristics and growth opportunities.
“Shore is a high performing community bank with strong core deposits and solid loan growth. The merger has strategic and financial merit and will generate a number of benefits to both our existing shareholders, and our new shareholders from Shore Community Bank.”
Shore Community Bank president and CEO Robert English said: “Our board considers this merger to be an excellent opportunity and partnership which will benefit our shareholders through ownership in a growing financial institution with shares that trade on a national exchange.
“Our customers and the community will benefit from the enhanced products and services offered by 1ST Constitution, its financial strength and its strong commitment to its customers and the communities it serves.”
