Bridge Bancorp, Dime Community Bancshares announce $489m merger deal

Bridge Bancorp, Dime Community merger : Bridge Bancorp has signed an all-stock merger deal worth about $489 million with rival New York State bank holding company Dime Community Bancshares.

The merger deal is being taken up for establishing a premier community-based business bank with over $11 billion in assets under management, total deposits of over $8 billion, and 66 branches, spanning from Montauk to Manhattan.

While Bridge Bancorp is the parent company of BNB Bank, Dime Community Bancshares is the holding company of Dime Community Bank.

BNB Bank caters to the Long Island and the greater New York metropolitan region with its commercial banking services, that are offered through 38 branches.

Founded in 1910, BNB Bank has around $5.1 billion in assets under management.

Dime Community Bank is a New York State-chartered community commercial bank that has been in business since 1864. The community commercial bank has 28 banking offices in the Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, the Bronx, and Suffolk counties.

Kevin O’Connor – President and CEO of Bridge Bancorp, commenting on the Bridge Bancorp, Dime Community merger, said: “This highly compelling combination will allow us to build on our complementary strengths and provide significant value for shareholders.

“Dime has earned its strong reputation in the greater New York metropolitan market, and I’m thrilled to partner with them.  Our enhanced branch footprint and increased capital base will allow us to better serve the needs of our customers. In addition, both companies have strong balance sheets and demonstrated histories of low loan losses through prior cycles, which give me confidence that we will be well-positioned to succeed in any environment.”

Bridge Bancorp is claimed to have expertise in commercial real estate, commercial and industrial (C&I), and small business lending, whereas Dime Community Bancshares is into low-loan-to-value New York multifamily lending.

The merger of the two New York State bank holding companies is said to boost their complementary commercial and retail banking business units.

Dime Community Bancshares has agreed to exchange 0.6480 of its shares with each of Bridge Bancorp’s shares. The exchange ratio means that Dime Community Bancshares’ shareholders will have a stake of around 52% in the enlarged bank holding company, and the remainder 48% or so stake will be held by Bridge Bancorp’s shareholders.

Dime Community Bancshares will be the name that will be assumed by the combined bank holding company, and Dime Community Bank will be the brand to be taken up by the combined bank, to be headquartered in Hauppauge.

Commenting on the Bridge Bancorp, Dime Community merger, Kenneth J. Mahon – CEO of Dime Community Bancshares, said: “Prior to the onset of our commercial bank transformation four years ago, Dime was a monoline, multifamily thrift lender. This merger is the next logical step in Dime’s journey and significantly accelerates our business model transformation.

“Bridge and Dime are two of the most highly acclaimed and respected franchises in the New York market. Both of us weathered the financial crisis of 2008 with among the lowest loss rates in the entire country.

“We believe the capital strength of the combined company, Bridge’s high-quality deposit base, and Dime’s historically strong New York City multifamily loan portfolio, will result in the creation of a solid balance sheet. In Bridge, we have aligned ourselves with a company that has a well-constructed commercial bank balance sheet, shares our values, our community focus, and our commitment to building and retaining highly-talented staffs.”

The closing of the Bridge Bancorp, Dime Community merger is subject to meeting of customary closing conditions, which includes approvals from regulators and shareholders of the two bank holding companies, and is likely to occur in Q1 2021.