Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., is buying the $1.6 billion-asset State Bancorp in Jericho, N.Y., for $222 million in stock, or 1.85 times State's tangible book value.
The deal, announced late Thursday, would beef up Valley National presence in Manhattan and Queens, where it already has more than 20 branches, and provide an entrée into Long Island. The combined company would have $16 billion of assets and 215 branches in 16 counties stretching from central New Jersey to Long Island.
The deal would be the third in New York for Valley National since March of 2010, when it acquired two failed banks in Manhattan. It first entered New York 10 years ago with its acquisition of The Merchants Bank of New York.
With the deal for State Bancorp, "we add another attractive and well-positioned institution with tremendous potential in a region with very strong demographics," said Gerald H. Lipkin, Valley National's longtime president and chief executive officer.
State Bancorp shareholders would receive one Valley National share for each share they own, after adjusting for Valley's recently declared 5% stock dividend. Valley's share price closed at $14.41 Thursday.
Valley has also agreed to repay the $37 million State Bancorp received from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008.
