Shareholders approve Prudential-Fulton merger
Transaction valued at $142.1 million expected to close in July
LANCASTER » Fulton Financial Corp. is on track to complete its acquisition of Prudential Bancorp Inc. as early as next month.
Shareholders for Prudential Bancorp voted Wednesday, June 15, to approve the acquisition, which was announced in March. According to a press release, more than 98% of the votes cast by shareholders were in favor of the merger.
“We anticipate the transaction will be consummated in early July, allowing Fulton to welcome Prudential Bank team members and customers to Fulton while, at the same time, significantly enhancing Fulton Bank’s presence in the Philadelphia community,” Fulton Chairman and CEO E. Philip Wenger said in a statement.
The approval by Prudential Bancorp shareholders was one of the final steps in the acquisition process. In May, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities approved Fulton’s applications to acquire Prudential Bancorp Inc. and, indirectly, to acquire Prudential Bank, located in Philadelphia.
On June 13, Fulton received approval of its application for the bank merger from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Once the acquisition is complete, Fulton will operate two banking subsidiaries — Fulton Bank, N.A. and Prudential Bank — until Prudential Bank is merged into Fulton Bank. That aspect of the merger is expected to happen in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Under the terms of the acquisition, announced on March 2, Fulton will acquire Prudential in a stock and cash transaction valued at $142.1 million.
In announcing the acquisition earlier this year, Fulton — which is headquartered in Lancaster — described the transaction as “strategic,” and one that will “accelerate” Fulton’s Philadelphia presence.
Fulton Bank has opened four financial centers in Philadelphia since 2019. The company said the acquisition will enable Fulton to offer financial services to more consumer, small business and commercial customers.
In March, Wenger said he had previously shared with investors Fulton’s desire to be “more active in mergers and acquisitions of companies that are a good fit for us.” He plans to retire as chairman and chief executive officer of the corporation at the end of the year, after 43 years with the company. Curtis J. Myers, currently the company’s president and chief operating officer, will succeed Wenger.
Fulton Financial Corp. is the bank holding company for Fulton Bank, N.A., with consolidated assets of approximately $26 billion. It operates 200 financial centers in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, including 18 locations in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.
Prudential is the holding company of Prudential Bank, a Pennsylvania-chartered savings bank with assets of approximately $1.1 billion. Headquartered in Philadelphia, operates additional financial centers in Philadelphia, as well as one each in Drexel Hill, Delaware County and Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery County.