Lancaster, Pa.-based Fulton Financial Corporation is acquiring Rutherford, N.J.-based Blue Foundry Bancorp in a $243 million stock deal..The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of next year, expands the footprint of the southeast Pennsylvania-based Fulton Financial in the northern New Jersey market and strengthens its regional growth strategy. The $32 billion Fulton Financial expects the acquisition will be accretive to first full-year earnings by more than 5 percent.Fulton Financial serves customers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia. Blue Foundry Bancorp is the holding company of $2.1 billion Blue Foundry Bank, which has branches in northern and central New Jersey. “This combination brings together two community-focused banks with shared values and a commitment to personalized service,” said Fulton Financial Chair and CEO Curtis Myers. As part of the agreement, Fulton will donate $1.5 million to the Fulton Forward Foundation to support New Jersey nonprofits through targeted community impact grants.Little Rock, Ark.-based financial services firm Stephens Inc. and Tampa-based law firm Holland & Knight advised Fulton, while Minneapolis-based financial services firm Piper Sandler & Co. and Washington, D.C.-based law firm Luse Gorman, PC were advisors to Blue Foundry.
