Center Bancorp Inc. of Union, N.J., is buying a 5-year-old Morristown, N.J., community bank for $26.3 million in cash and stock.
The $931 million-asset Center said last week that Red Oak Bank, which has $96 million of assets and one branch, would be merged into Union Center National Bank, which has two branches in Morristown.
The deal, expected to close in the first half, was announced six weeks after Red Oak reported third-quarter earnings of $208,000 - its largest quarterly profit ever. In 2003, its first profitable year, Red Oak made $501,000.
Center made its last purchase in 1996, when it paid $6 million for Lehigh Savings Bank of Union.
