NewBridge Bank’s merger with Yadkin Bank became final Tuesday as anticipated, officials of parent Yadkin Financial Corp. announced in a news release. The combined bank will be known as Yadkin Bank and will have assets of $7.3 billion.
 
“This is an exciting time for Yadkin. We have received very strong shareholder and customer support during this process,” Scott Custer, president and CEO of Yadkin Bank, said in the release. “We are enthusiastic about adding additional talented team members to Yadkin who will continue to be focused on the needs of their local communities.”
 
Under the terms of the merger agreement, NewBridge shareholders will receive half a share of Yadkin Financial voting common stock in exchange for each NewBridge share they own. The transaction is valued at roughly $450 million, depending on current stock values, Custer said in an interview Tuesday.
 
The new bank currently has 110 branches in North Carolina and upstate South Carolina and serves 130,000 customers, the release stated.
 
Locally, Yadkin Bank operates two branches in the Wilmington area, having sold a third – in Leland – to Select Bank at the end of 2015. NewBridge has nine branches in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties. Combined, the two banks have a nearly 8 percent local market share, according to FDIC data from June 30, 2015.
 
“The Wilmington market is a significant market for us. It’s one of our largest, in terms of positioning and market share,” Custer said.
 
For now, the CEO continued, it will be business as usual for both bank entities. Their customers will see no change for the next six months or so, as training continues internally and the banks prepare to integrate their systems. When everything is ready, the two systems will be merged over the course of a weekend, he said. That will probably happen in September.
 
Until then, however, customers of one entity cannot conduct their banking business in the other entity, Custer said.
 
Regarding how the merger could affect personnel at area branches, Custer said Yadkin Bank does not comment on personnel matters.