Sept 7 (Reuters) – Florida-based EverBank Financial has agreed to acquire WaFd, a smaller bank in the Pacific Northwest, in a $3.9 billion reverse merger transaction, the companies said on Monday.
The deal would create a regional bank with some $75 billion in assets, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Monday, citing a statement from the companies.
Under the deal, EverBank will merge into WaFd, with the latter remaining a publicly traded company after changing its name to EverBank Financial Corp and trading under the new ticker symbol EVBK on the Nasdaq.
Upon completion of the transaction, EverBank investors will collectively own about 59.2% of the pro forma combined company, with WaFd shareholders owning the remaining 40.8%.
The companies said the merger, which is expected to close in early 2027, is projected to increase WaFd’s 2027 earnings per share by roughly 29% and recoup tangible book value dilution in less than two years.
(Reporting by Natalia Bueno Rebolledo in Mexico City and Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao)
