Zef Nikolla
ConnectOne Bancorp in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, said Thursday it inked an all-stock deal to acquire The First of Long Island Corp. The $284 million transaction, slated to close in mid-2025, would create a $14 billion-asset bank with a deeper presence throughout the New York City metropolitan area.
The deal would combine “two highly complementary, commercially focused banks to create a truly premier New York-metro community bank,” Frank Sorrentino III, chairman and CEO of ConnectOne, said in a press release announcing the deal.
Melville, New York-based First of Long Island, parent company of The First National Bank of Long Island, operates 40 branches in the New York City area, with approximately 92% of its deposits located in the affluent Nassau and Suffolk counties of Long Island. It has $4.2 billion of assets, $3.3 billion of loans, and $3.4 billion of deposits.
Based on S&P Global Market Intelligence data, First of Long Island is ranked No. 4 in Nassau County and fifth in Suffolk County in deposit market share among banks under $100 billion of assets.
The combined company would operate under the ConnectOne brand, and it would have $11 billion of both deposits and loans, based on the companies’ respective second-quarter data.
“Together, we leverage the strengths, expertise and resources of both companies to offer our clients the muscle and support of a $14 billion institution with a people-first culture backed by modern infrastructure,” Chris Becker, CEO of The First National Bank of Long Island, said in the release. “This partnership is the coming together of two market-adjacent companies that will be positioned for greater success.”
Should the deal close as planned, Becker would become vice chairman of ConnectOne and two current independent members of First of Long Island’s board would join the combined bank’s board.
The deal is expected to prove 36% accretive to ConnectOne’s earnings per share in 2025. Tangible book value per share dilution is projected at 12%. The buyer expects to earn back that dilution in less than three years.
“By combining our talents and resources, we’re creating a significantly enhanced platform for continued growth,” Sorrentino said.
