WSFS Financial Corporation and Penn Liberty Financial Corp. have signed a definitive agreement and plan of reorganization whereby WSFS Financial Corporation will acquire Penn Liberty Financial Corp.
Upon the closing of the transaction, Penn Liberty Bank, the wholly owned bank subsidiary of Penn Liberty, will merge into WSFS Financial Corporation’s wholly owned bank subsidiary, WSFS Bank.
Headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Penn Liberty Bank was founded in 2004 to offer financial products and services to small and mid-size businesses, professional real estate developers and investors, and retail customers throughout the western suburban Philadelphia marketplace. Penn Liberty reported $651 million in assets, $510 million in loans and $558 million in deposits as of September 30, 2015 and serves its customers from 11 offices in Chester and Montgomery Counties.
Following the merger, WSFS will have 24 offices in southeastern Pennsylvania.
WSFS President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark A. Turner said, “We are excited to announce our combination with Penn Liberty Bank, a high-quality community bank with incredibly professional and committed Associates and leadership. Penn Liberty’s 11 locations are a great complement to our Pennsylvania network, including our recently acquired Alliance Bank locations, and Penn Liberty’s experienced management team and commercially-focused business model will add important relationships to our banking franchise.”
The total transaction is valued at approximately $101 million, based on a 10-day volume weighted average price of WSFS common stock, and Penn Liberty’s common shares outstanding of 4.26 million and options outstanding of 685.6 thousand with a weighted average strike price of $10.05. Shareholders of Penn Liberty will be entitled to elect to receive either 0.6601 shares of WSFS common stock or $21.75 in cash for each common share of Penn Liberty, subject to an overall allocation of exchanged Penn Liberty shares into 60 percent WSFS common stock and 40 percent cash. The closing and systems conversion is anticipated to occur early in the third quarter of 2016, subject to approval by Penn Liberty shareholders and regulatory approvals.