Ocean First Bank headquarters in Red Bank. Workers have been remaking the front plaza in recent months. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Red Bank-based OceanFirst Financial Corp. has purchased Long Island-based Flushing Financial Corporation for a $579 million, boosting its efforts to expand into New York markets, the company announced this week.
The purchase will create a regional bank with $23 billion in assets across New Jersey, Long Island and New York markets, nj.com reported.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. OceanFirst is one of New Jersey’s largest regional banks.
The all-stock transaction values Flushing at $579 million based on OceanFirst’s Dec. 26 closing stock price of $19.76, according to a statement by OceanFirst.
Investment firm Warburg Pincus has committed to invest $225 million in newly issued equity securities when the merger closes, according to the company’s statement.
The combined bank will operate 71 retail branches and hold approximately $17 billion in total loans and $18 billion in total deposits.
The deal expands OceanFirst’s presence in Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan counties.
“This acquisition represents a natural extension of our proven growth strategy,” Christopher Maher, chairman and chief executive officer of OceanFirst said in a statement.
