MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Valley National Bancorp Acquires Bank Leumi USA
Compiled by John Joseph Parker Contributing Editor
Valley National Bancorp announced that its acquisition of Bank Leumi Le- Israel Corporation ( Leumi USA ), the U . S . subsidiary of Bank Leumi Le-Israel B . M . ( BLITA ), and parent company of Bank Leumi USA ( Bank Leumi ) was completed effective April 1 , 2022 .
Valley will issue approximately 85 million shares of common stock and pay $ 113 million in cash in the transaction . The common shareholders of Leumi USA will receive 3.8025 shares of Valley common stock and $ 5.08 in cash for each Leumi USA common share that they own .
As of Dec . 31 , 2021 , Bank Leumi had approximately $ 8.3 billion in assets , $ 5.8 billion of diverse commercial loans and $ 7.1 billion of low-cost deposits . The acquisition supplements Valley ’ s commercial banking expertise and provides new business capabilities in the technology banking and private banking areas . The combined institution will have enhanced scale and be well-positioned to capture diverse commercial growth opportunities throughout its markets .
“ This transaction further solidifies Valley ’ s position as one of the premier full-service commercial banks in the country ,” commented Valley CEO Ira Robbins . “ We are incredibly excited about the new business capabilities and the differentiated growth opportunities that Bank Leumi will bring to our combined organization . On behalf of our board of directors and our executive leadership team , I ’ d like to welcome Bank Leumi clients and employees to the Valley family .”
In connection with the merger , former Bank Leumi President and CEO Avner Mendelson has joined the board of directors of Valley National in the role of Vice-Chairman and Ronen Agassi , head of the Corporate Division of BLITA , has also joined the board of directors of Valley .
Valley Bank CEO Ira Robbins
CONSTRUCTION
RC Andersen Names New President and CEO Roles
Neil Ascione has been promoted to president as Robert Andersen takes CEO role .
Compiled by John Joseph Parker Contributing Editor
Industrial construction firm RC Andersen has named Neil Ascione as its new president . Robert Andersen , the company ’ s owner and president since its founding in 2006 , will step into the Chief Executive Officer role , allowing Ascione to oversee daily company operations .
A graduate of Rutgers University with a B . S . in civil engineering , Ascione joined RC Andersen as a project manager before moving into project executive , vice president and senior vice president positions with the company .
Over the years , Ascione has managed many types and sizes of industrial construction projects , including multiple simultaneous rebuilds in the New Jersey Meadowlands due to Superstorm Sandy flooding , major single-story , build-to-suit requirements , as well as multistory e-commerce buildings of up 3.8 million square feet each . Since RC Andersen merged with STO Building Group in November 2021 , Ascione has been instrumental in facilitating a smooth integration .
Andersen will continue his general oversight of the company , but will continue to lead business development , preconstruction management , and collaboration across the STO Building Group network .
Founded in 2006 by Robert Andersen , RC Andersen is an industrial general contractor that offers comprehensive design solutions and project management for property owners , developers and tenants .
Neil Ascione
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