PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. ANNOUNCES MERGER CONSIDERATION
ELECTION, ALLOCATION AND PRORATION RESULTS FOR
THE FIRST MORRIS BANK & TRUST ACQUISITION
JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 5, 2007 / PRNewswire-First Call/ -- Provident Financial
Services, Inc. (NYSE: PFS) ("Provident") today announced results of elections
made by stockholders of First Morris Bank & Trust ("First Morris") as to the
form of merger consideration to be received in the April 1, 2007 merger of First
Morris with and into The Provident Bank, the savings bank subsidiary of
Provident.
Under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated October 15, 2006, 50%
of First Morris common shares will be converted into Provident common stock and
the remaining 50% will be converted into cash. First Morris' stockholders were
given the option to receive either 2.1337 shares of Provident common stock,
$39.75 in cash, or a combination of Provident common stock and cash for each
First Morris common share owned, subject to proration to ensure that in the
aggregate 50% of the First Morris shares will be converted into Provident common
stock.
In accordance with the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, and based upon
the election results and allocation procedures:
o First Morris stockholders who made a stock election for all or a portion of
their shares of First Morris common stock will receive 2.1337 shares of
Provident common stock for each of their stock election shares.
o Since the cash merger consideration was oversubscribed, First Morris
stockholders who made a cash election for all or a portion of their shares of
First Morris common stock will receive the cash consideration of $39.75 per
share for approximately 66.46% of their cash election shares and will receive
2.1337 shares of Provident common stock per share for approximately 33.54% of
their cash election shares.
o First Morris stockholders who did not make a valid election prior to 5:00 p.m.
on March 29, 2007 will receive 2.1337 shares of Provident common stock for each
of their shares of First Morris common stock, upon completion of a letter of
transmittal being mailed to them.
No fractional shares of Provident common stock shall be issued. In lieu of such
fractional shares Provident will pay to each former holder of First Morris
common stock an amount in cash without interest, equal to $17.427.
Please call Registrar and Transfer Company at 1-800-368-5948 for information
regarding individual allocation results.
About Provident
Provident Financial Services, Inc. is the holding company for The Provident
Bank. Originally established in 1839, The Provident Bank is a New
Jersey-chartered capital stock savings bank headquartered in Jersey City, New
Jersey. The Bank now operates 84 full-service branches in Hudson, Bergen, Essex,
Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Somerset and Union counties after
giving effect to the First Morris merger.
This news release may contain a number of forward-looking statements, as that
term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated due
to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, factors discussed
in documents filed by Provident with the Securities and Exchange Commission from
time to time. Provident undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which
such statements were made. You may access the filings and other financial and
business information regarding Provident at www.providentnj.com.
SOURCE: Provident Financial Services, Inc.
CONTACT:
Provident Financial Services, Inc.:
Kenneth J. Wagner, SVP - Investor Relations
(201) 915-5344
Ken.Wagner@providentnj.com