Northfield Bancorp in Woodbridge, N.J., has agreed to buy VSB Bancorp in Staten Island, N.Y.
The $4.8 billion-asset Northfield said in a press release Monday that it will pay $62.9 million in stock for the $378 million-asset parent of Victory State Bank. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced VSB at 162% of its tangible book value.
It also harks back to the acquirer’s 19th-century roots. Northfield takes its name from one of the oldest neighborhoods on Staten Island, where it was founded in 1887. The 22-year-old Victory State has six branches — all on Staten Island — $325 million in deposits and $157 million in loans.
Northfield said it expects the deal to be 8.5% accretive to its 2021 earnings per share. It should take less than four year for Northfield to earn back an expected 2.5% dilution to its tangible book value.
“This merger will … provide greater lending capacity to Victory’s customers, improve efficiency in our combined organization, expand our market share of core deposits, and further leverage our strong capital base to support earnings growth,” Steven Klein, Northfield’s president and CEO, said in the release.
Ralph Branca, Victory’s president and CEO, will join Northfield in a leadership role for the Staten Island marketplace.
Sandler O'Neill and Luse Gorman advised Northfield. FinPro Capital Advisors and Gallet Dreyer & Berkey advised VSB.
