DENVER (May 15, 2024) – Holland & Knight advised Piper Sandler & Co. and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company, two leading investment banking firms, as joint book-running managers in the offering and sale of $225 million of 9 percent fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due 2034 by Provident Financial Services Inc. (NYSE:PFS). The offering closed on May 13, 2024. This was the first Kroll-rated bank holding company subordinated debt issuance since May 2022.
The notes were sold at par, resulting in net proceeds, after discounts and estimated offering expenses, of approximately $219.3 million. The notes are intended to qualify as Tier 2 capital for regulatory purposes.
The purpose of the offering was to satisfy certain previously announced regulatory conditions that were agreed to in connection with the merger between Provident Financial Services Inc. and Lakeland Bancorp Inc. In light of the completion of the offering, the merger transaction is now expected to close after the close of trading on May 15, 2024, pending satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, Provident Financial Services is the holding company for Provident Bank, a New Jersey State-chartered community-oriented bank. Provident Bank expects that the net proceeds from the offering will be initially invested in securities and used for other general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment of Federal Home Loan Bank advances and other indebtedness.
Holland & Knight Partners Mark Goldschmidt, William Levay, Kevin Houlihan and Paul Aguggia led the firm's representation of Piper Sandler & Co. and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. along with Associates Jonathan Guest, Emma O'Connell, Stephanie Torres, Amelia Occhino and Cristina Salazar. The team received assistance from Partners Douglas Youngman, Ross Tuminello, Victoria Zerjav and Robert J. Friedman and Associates Emma Cano and Bryce Klein.
More information about the transaction can be found here.