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Prospectus | | Proxy Statement |
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MERGER PROPOSED — YOUR VOTE IS VERY IMPORTANT
Dear Two River Shareholders:
On August 9, 2019, OceanFirst Financial Corp., a Delaware corporation (which we refer to as “OceanFirst”), Hammerhead Merger Sub Corp., a New Jersey corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of OceanFirst (which we refer to as “Merger Sub”), and Two River Bancorp, a New Jersey corporation (which we refer to as “Two River”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (which we refer to as the “merger agreement”) that provides for the combination of OceanFirst and Two River. Under the terms of the merger agreement, (i) Merger Sub will merge with and into Two River (which we refer to as the “first-step merger”), with Two River continuing as the surviving corporation in the first-step merger and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of OceanFirst, (ii) immediately following the completion of the first-step merger, Two River will merge with and into OceanFirst (which we refer to as the “second-step merger” and, together with the first-step merger, the “integrated mergers”), with OceanFirst continuing as the surviving corporation in the second-step merger, and (iii) immediately following the completion of the integrated mergers, Two River Community Bank, a New Jersey charterednon-member bank and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Two River (which we refer to as “Two River Bank”), will merge with and into OceanFirst Bank, National Association, a national banking association and a wholly-owned subsidiary of OceanFirst (which we refer to as “OceanFirst Bank”), with OceanFirst Bank being the surviving bank (which we refer to as the “bank merger” and, together with the integrated mergers, the “Transactions”).
At the effective time of the first-step merger (which we refer to as the “effective time”), each outstanding share of the common stock, no par value, of Two River (which we refer to as “Two River common stock”), except for shares of Two River common stock owned by Two River as treasury shares, any subsidiary of Two River, OceanFirst or any subsidiary of OceanFirst (other than any such shares held in employee benefit plans or related trust account, managed accounts, mutual funds, or otherwise held in a fiduciary capacity or as a result of debt previously contracted) (which we refer to as the “exception shares”), will be converted into the right to receive $5.375 in cash, without interest (which we refer to as the “cash consideration”), and 0.6663 shares (such number being referred to as the “exchange ratio” and such shares being referred to as “stock consideration” and together with the cash consideration, the “merger consideration”) of the common stock of OceanFirst, par value $0.01 per share (which we refer to as “OceanFirst common stock”), together with cash in lieu of fractional shares, if any.
Although the number of shares of OceanFirst common stock that holders of Two River common stock will be entitled to receive as the stock portion of the merger consideration is fixed, the market value of such shares (and, therefore, the value of the stock portion of the merger consideration) will fluctuate with the market price of OceanFirst common stock and will not be known at the time Two River shareholders vote on the first-step merger. However, as described in more detail elsewhere in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus, under the terms of the merger agreement, if the average of the daily closing prices of OceanFirst common stock over a specified period of time prior to the receipt of all requisite regulatory approvals for the Transactions (disregarding any applicable waiting period) decreases below certain specified thresholds, Two River would have a right to terminate the merger agreement, unless OceanFirst elects to increase the exchange ratio, which would result in additional shares of OceanFirst common stock being issued. Based on the $23.14 closing price of OceanFirst common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (which we refer to as the “Nasdaq”) on August 8, 2019, the last full trading day before the public announcement of the Transactions, the per share value of the merger consideration was equal to $20.79. Based on the $23.95 closing price of OceanFirst common stock on the Nasdaq on October 25, 2019, the per share value of the merger consideration was equal to $21.33. Based on the exchange ratio and the number of shares of Two River common stock outstanding as of October 24, 2019, the last date prior to the printing of the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus for which it was practicable to obtain this information, the maximum number of shares of OceanFirst common stock estimated to be issuable at the effective time is 5,807,029.We urge you to obtain current market quotations for OceanFirst (trading symbol “OCFC”) and Two River (trading symbol “TRCB”).
Two River will hold a special meeting of its shareholders in connection with the Transactions. At the special meeting, Two River shareholders will be asked to vote to approve the merger agreement, and the transactions contemplated thereby, and related matters as described in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus. Under New Jersey law, approval of the merger agreement requires the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast at the special meeting by the holders of shares of Two River common stock entitled to vote at the special meeting.
The special meeting is scheduled to be held on Thursday, December 5, 2019 at The Navesink Country Club, located at 50 Luffburrow Lane, Red Bank, New Jersey, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
The Two River board of directors unanimously recommends that Two River shareholders vote “FOR” the approval of the merger agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the first-step merger, and “FOR” the other proposals to be considered at the special meeting.
The accompanying proxy statement/prospectus describes the special meeting, the Transactions, the documents related to the Transactions and other related matters. Please carefully read the entire accompanying proxy statement/prospectus, including “Risk Factors,” beginning on page 21, for a discussion of the risks relating to the Transactions. You also can obtain information about OceanFirst from documents that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Christopher D. Maher President and Chief Executive Officer OceanFirst Financial Corp. | | William D. Moss Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer Two River Bancorp |
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the securities to be issued in the first-step merger or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The securities to be issued in the first-step merger are not savings or deposit accounts or other obligations of any bank ornon-bank subsidiary of either OceanFirst or Two River, and they are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
The date of the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus is October 29, 2019 and it is first being mailed or otherwise delivered to the shareholders of Two River on or about November 1, 2019.