WSFS Financial Corporation Receives Stockholder Approval to Combine with Beneficial Bancorp
December 12 2018 - 2:31PM
WSFS Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: WSFS) (“WSFS”) announced today
that its stockholders overwhelmingly approved the previously
announced merger of Beneficial Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNCL)
(“Beneficial”) with and into WSFS at a special meeting of
stockholders held today. As previously announced, Beneficial
stockholders approved the merger at a special meeting of
stockholders held on December 6, 2018.
“The votes of approval by both companies’
stockholders represent another major milestone in our plan to
transform WSFS Bank into the premier, locally-headquartered
community bank with the size, scale and modern technologies to
compete with banks of all sizes,” said Rodger Levenson, WSFS’
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer who will
become WSFS’ President and Chief Executive Officer on January 1,
2019.
Subject to the receipt of the required
regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other conditions to
closing, the parties expect to close the merger in the first
quarter of 2019. The projected system conversion and
rebranding is expected to occur in August 2019.
About WSFS Financial CorporationWSFS Financial
Corporation is a multi-billion dollar financial services company.
Its primary subsidiary, WSFS Bank, is the longest-standing and
largest locally-managed bank and trust company headquartered in
Delaware and the Delaware Valley. As of September 30, 2018, WSFS
Financial Corporation had $7.2 billion in assets on its balance
sheet and $19.7 billion in assets under management and
administration. WSFS operates from 77 offices located in Delaware
(46), Pennsylvania (29), Virginia (1) and Nevada (1) and provides
comprehensive financial services including commercial banking,
retail banking, cash management and trust and wealth management.
Other subsidiaries or divisions include Christiana Trust,
Christiana Trust of DE, WSFS Wealth Investments, WSFS Wealth Client
Management, Cypress Capital Management, LLC, West Capital
Management, Powdermill Financial Solutions, Cash Connect®, WSFS
Mortgage and Arrow Land Transfer. Serving the Delaware Valley since
1832, WSFS Bank is one of the ten oldest banks in the United States
continuously operating under the same name. For more information,
please visit wsfsbank.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains estimates,
predictions, opinions, projections and other “forward-looking
statements” as that phrase is defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include,
without limitation, statements relating to the impact WSFS expects
its proposed acquisition of Beneficial to have on the combined
entity’s operations, financial condition, and financial results,
and WSFS’s expectations about its ability to successfully integrate
the combined businesses and the amount of cost savings and overall
operational efficiencies WSFS expects to realize as a result of the
proposed acquisition. The forward-looking statements also
include predications or expectations of future business or
financial performance as well as goals and objectives for future
operations, financial and business trends, business prospects, and
management’s outlook or expectations for earnings, revenues,
expenses, capital levels, liquidity levels, asset quality or other
future financial or business performance, strategies or
expectations. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “project” and similar expressions,
among others, generally identify forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions (many
of which are beyond the control of WSFS and Beneficial) and are
subject to risks and uncertainties (which change over time) and
other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially
from those currently anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the proposed
acquisition does not close when expected or at all because required
regulatory or other approvals and other conditions to closing are
not received or satisfied on a timely basis or at all, the failure
to close for any other reason, changes in WSFS’s share price before
closing, that the businesses of WSFS and Beneficial will not be
integrated successfully, that the cost savings and any synergies
from the proposed acquisition may not be fully realized or may take
longer to realize than expected, disruption from the proposed
acquisition making it more difficult to maintain relationships with
employees, customers or other parties with whom WSFS or Beneficial
have business relationships, diversion of management time on
merger-related issues, risks relating to the potential dilutive
effect of shares of WSFS common stock to be issued in the
transaction, the reaction to the transaction of the companies’
customers, employees and counterparties and other factors, many of
which are beyond the control of WSFS and Beneficial. We refer
you to the “Risk Factors” section of the joint proxy
statement/prospectus and to the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations” sections of WSFS’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2017, the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed
by Beneficial for the year ended December 31, 2017 and any updates
to those risk factors set forth in WSFS’s and Beneficial’s
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and
other filings, which have been filed by WSFS and Beneficial with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and are
available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. All
forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, included in this
Current Report on Form 8-K are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to
herein. The actual results or developments anticipated may not be
realized or, even if substantially realized, they may not have the
expected consequences to or effects on WSFS, Beneficial or their
respective businesses or operations. We caution readers not to
place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date on which they are made. Neither WSFS nor
Beneficial undertakes any obligation, and specifically declines any
obligation, to revise or update any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise.
Investor Relations Contact: Dominic C.
Canuso(302) 571-6833dcanuso@wsfsbank.com
Media Contact: Jimmy A. Hernandez(302)
571-5254jhernandez@wsfsbank.com
Beneficial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BNCL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Beneficial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BNCL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024