Lakeland Bancorp, a New Jersey-based bank holding company, has announced plans to acquire local rival 1st Constitution Bancorp in a deal valued around $244.4m.

The two entities signed a definitive agreement and plan of merger to combine their operations. As agreed, 1st Constitution Bank will merge with and into Lakeland Bank.

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the deal, 1st Constitution shareholders will receive 1.3577 Lakeland shares for each share they hold.

Furthermore, Lakeland will cash out outstanding 1st Constitution options.

The transaction is slated to close in the fourth quarter of 2021 or early first quarter 2022. The completion is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Benefits

The deal will create a combined lender with $9.6bn in assets. It would also be fifth largest bank headquartered in New Jersey.

The acquisition will expand Lakeland’s product offerings adding an additional residential mortgage business to its portfolio.

The deal will also enable Lakeland foray into new markets and bolster presence in existing ones.

Quote:

Lakeland and Lakeland Bank president and CEO Thomas J. Shara said: “We are delighted to be combining with 1st Constitution and expanding Lakeland’s presence into central New Jersey.

“This business combination provides attractive financial attributes to shareholders of both Lakeland and 1st Constitution. This merger is consistent with our recent initiatives to expand into desirable markets. We look forward to working with 1st Constitution in delivering a broad array of business and consumer products into our expanded marketplace.”