ConnectOne Bancorp to buy First of Long Island in $284 mln deal; shares rise

ConnectOne Bancorp

05/09/2024 16:53

** Shares of regional lender ConnectOne Bancorp  CNOB.O 
rise as much as 4.7%, last up 3.4% at $24.80
    ** First of Long Island  FLIC.O  shares rise as much as
3.2%, last up 2.2% at $12.77
    ** CNOB has agreed to buy New York-based smaller peer FLIC
in an all-stock deal valued at $284 mln, the companies said on
Thursday
    ** Deal bolsters ConnectOne's presence in Long Island, where
it opened its first branch in 2018, and creates a combined bank
with about $14 bln in assets
    ** FLIC shareholders will get 0.5175 shares of ConnectOne
for each share held, valuing the lender at $12.40/shr, based on
CNOB's last close
    ** Deal, which is expected to close in mid-2025, represents
a 0.8% discount to FLIC's last close
    ** The deal is very attractive strategically that expands
into the strong markets of Long Island - Piper Sandler
    ** As of last close, CNOB shares were up 4.6% YTD, while
FLIC shares were down 5.6%

 (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
 ((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))