Under the terms of the merger agreement, former Financial Federal shareholders will receive, in exchange for each share of Financial Federal common stock, $11.27 in cash and one share of People’s United common stock.
Philip Sherringham, president and CEO of People’s United Financial, said: “We are very pleased that Financial Federal is now part of People’s United and look forward to working together to continue growing our equipment financing business. This transaction marries the low-cost funding of our deposit base and our substantial excess liquidity with the high-yielding Financial Federal portfolio. The combination complements our People’s Capital and Leasing Corp. equipment financing business, which we have operated since 1997.
“It is expected to be significantly accretive to earnings and is not dilutive to capital, providing us with continued outstanding flexibility as we continue to evaluate and pursue strategic growth opportunities, including attractive acquisitions of banks.”
Paul Sinsheimer, president of Financial Federal Credit, now a subsidiary of People’s United Bank, said: “We are delighted to join the People’s United team. The transaction is a great fit on many levels, with shared conservative credit cultures and very little overlap in the sectors that we serve.”
