First Niagara plans to acquire NewAlliance for $14.09 a share, or $1.15 billion

First Niagara to buy NewAlliance for $1.15B

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Regional bank First Niagara Financial Group Inc. is buying NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. of Connecticut for $14.09 per share, or $1.15 billion.

The banks say the deal represents a 24-percent premium over the NewAlliance’s closing price of $11.36 Wednesday.

The transaction will create a top-25 U.S. bank by assets, which will total $29 billion. That includes more than $14 billion in loans and $18 billion in deposits.

The deal will be a cash-and-stock transaction with each NewAlliance shareholder receiving either 1.10 shares of First Niagara stock, cash, or a combination for each NewAlliance share.