Buffalo-based M&T Bank Corporation has announced the largest acquisition in company history.
M&T will take over the Paramus, New Jersey-based Hudson City Bancorp Incorporated for an estimated $3.7 billion. Ninety-seven of the 135 branches being purchased by M&T are in New Jersey, which will make it the Garden State's fourth-largest bank by deposit share.
M&T will gain $25 billion in deposits and $28 billion in loans, plus other bank branches in New York and Connecticut. The transaction will add to M&T's acquisitions in Delaware and the mid-Atlantic region in recent years and bank officials say they expect new jobs will be opening up in Buffalo.
Both companies' boards have approved the transaction. It still needs approval from their shareholders.
Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statement saying the M&T acquisition of Hudson City "is proof that New York has turned a corner and is truly open for business."