Bridge Bancorp buying Community National for about $140M

Bridge Bancorp, parent of Bridgehampton National Bank, said Monday it would acquire the 11-branch Community National Bank, based in Melville, for about $140 million.

Bridge, based in Bridgehampton, will have a total of 40 branches and assets of about $3.2 billion when the acquisition closes, probably in the second quarter of next year.

Shareholders of Community National will receive a 0.79 share of Bridge for each share of Community National stock, implying a per-share value of $20.03.

The merged bank will have 29 branches in Suffolk, nine in Nassau and one each in Queens and Manhattan. Community National branches will be renamed, but none will be closed, said Kevin M. O'Connor, Bridge president and chief executive.

"That's what's great about this," he said. "It's a real expansion of us and a larger bank being able to offer [Community National depositors] additional services."

Shares of Community National rose $1.91, or 11.04 percent, to close at $19.21 Monday. Bridge shares fell 24 cents, or 0.95 percent, to close at $25.11.

"Our combined institutions will be one of the largest community banks operating on Long Island," O'Connor said in a statement. He said the acquisition continues Bridge's expansion into Nassau County, where it has branches now only in Massapequa and Merrick.

Bridge said, that, absent merger costs, the deal would contribute to earnings in 2015, and be "approximately 10 percent accretive to earnings in 2016."

Bridge will appoint two directors from Community National to its board when the deal closes.