WSFS Financial in Wilmington, Del., has agreed to buy Bryn Mawr Bank in Pennsylvania.
The $14.3 billion-asset WSFS said in a press release Tuesday that it will pay $976.4 million in stock for the $5.4 billion-asset Bryn Mawr. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, priced Bryn Mawr at 229% of its tangible book value.
WSFS will have $43 billion of assets under management after the deal closes.
“This combination aligns with our strategic plan,” Rodger Levenson, the chairman, president and CEO at WSFS, said in the release. “Combining with Bryn Mawr allows us to accelerate our long-term strategic objectives, including scale to continue to invest in our delivery and talent transformations.”
The acquisition would be the ninth for WSFS since 2010 and its first since
WSFS said it expects to incur $127 million of merger-related expenses. It plans to cut about $73 million in annual noninterest expenses, including the closure of 30% of the combined company’s branches.
The deal is expected to be 13.4% accretive to annual earnings per share at WSFS in 2023, once all expenses have been cut.
Frank Leto, Bryn Mawr’s president and CEO, and two other Bryn Mawr directors will join the WSFS board.
WSFS plans to make a $2 million grant to the WSFS Community Foundation to support underserved communities.
Piper Sandler and Covington & Burling advised WSFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Squire Patton Boggs advised Bryn Mawr.
