Fulton Set to Acquire Blue Foundry, Deepens New Jersey Presence

Fulton Financial Corp. FULT has agreed to acquire Blue Foundry Bancorp BLFY in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $243 million.

Details of the Blue Foundry Buyout by Fulton

Per the agreement, Fulton will pay 0.6500 shares for each share of Blue Foundry. The merger agreement has been approved by the board of directors of both entities.

The deal is anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of 2026, subject to requisite regulatory approvals and the approval of Blue Foundry’s shareholders. Upon closure, Blue Foundry Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Foundry, will merge into Fulton Bank, N.A., the wholly owned bank subsidiary of Fulton.

Additionally, as part of the deal, Fulton will contribute $1.5 million to the Fulton Forward Foundation to fund impact grants for nonprofit community groups in New Jersey.

Rationale Behind Acquisition Pursued by Fulton

The deal speeds up Fulton’s expansion in the lucrative northern New Jersey market and is projected to lift first full-year earnings by more than 5%, boost tangible book value per share right away and leave regulatory capital ratios unchanged at closing.

Curtis J. Myers, chairman and CEO of Fulton, stated, “The combination of our companies creates an opportunity to leverage Fulton’s robust banking services and provide greater convenience and innovative solutions to an expanded customer base, with a continued focus on supporting our local communities. The expansion in northern New Jersey aligns with our strategy of growing in our local markets and positions us well to drive organic growth across our commercial, consumer, wealth advisory and mortgage businesses.”

The acquisition advances Fulton’s effort to broaden its reach and serve a larger customer base with its full suite of banking capabilities. By adding Blue Foundry’s footprint, the company strengthens its presence in northern New Jersey and enhances its ability to deliver more personalized service, community support and innovative financial solutions across its expanded network.

Fulton’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Shares of Fulton have declined 18.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s 8.7% decline.

FULT currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Acquisitions by Other Finance Firms

Earlier this month, State Street Corp. STT acquired its long-standing partner, PriceStats, a top provider of daily global inflation data generated from digitally collected prices on millions of consumer products.

PriceStats will be integrated into State Street Data Intelligence, which delivers proprietary data and insights to help clients make more informed investment decisions. The platform also includes State Street Private Capital Indices, a set of benchmarks and analytics built on more than $6 trillion in proprietary private equity and private credit data, supporting the construction and benchmarking of related portfolios.

Similarly, Charles Schwab SCHW agreed to acquire Forge Global on Nov. 6. The all-cash transaction is valued at roughly $660 million.

This addition of direct access to private securities through Forge Global builds on the recently launched Schwab Alternative Investments Select, an alternative investments platform available for retail clients with more than $5 million in household assets at Schwab. This move aims to capitalize on the sustained momentum in private markets, given the rising investor demand for early exposure to fast-growing startups to achieve greater returns and portfolio diversification.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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