UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): November 4, 2021 (November 4, 2021)
OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 001-11713 | 22-3412577 | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (Commission File No.) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
110 WEST FRONT STREET, RED BANK, NEW JERSEY 07701
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(732) 240-4500
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
☒ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share | OCFC | NASDAQ | ||
Depositary Shares (each representing a 1/40th interest in a share of 7.0% Series A Non-Cumulative, perpetual preferred stock) | OCFCP | NASDAQ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR 230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.12b-2).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure |
On November 4, 2021, OceanFirst Financial Corp. (“OceanFirst”) released a presentation to investors about the Transaction (as defined below). The presentation is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
The preceding information, as well as Exhibit 99.1 referenced therein, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, or incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Item 8.01 | Other Events. |
On November 4, 2021, OceanFirst issued a press release announcing that OceanFirst, Partners Bancorp (“Partners”) and Coastal Merger Sub Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of OceanFirst, have entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which OceanFirst will acquire Partners (the “Transaction”).
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Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits |
(d) | Exhibits. The following exhibits are filed with this report: |
Exhibit No. | Description | |
99.1 | Investor Presentation, dated November 4, 2021 | |
99.2 | Press Release, issued by OceanFirst on November 4, 2021 | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the inline XBRL document). |
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Cautionary Notes on Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may include: management plans relating to the proposed transaction with Partners Bancorp (the “Transaction”); the expected timing of the completion of the Transaction; the ability to complete the Transaction; the ability to obtain any required regulatory, stockholder or other approvals, authorizations or consents; any statements of the plans and objectives of management for future operations, products or services, including the execution of integration plans relating to the Transaction; any statements of expectation or belief; any projections or plans related to certain financial or operational metrics; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “seek”, “plan”, “will”, “would”, “could,” “may,” “target,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project” and other similar words and expressions or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time and are beyond our control. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Neither OceanFirst nor Partners Bancorp assumes any duty or obligation (and does not undertake) to update or supplement any forward-looking statements. Because forward-looking statements are, by their nature, to different degrees, uncertain and subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, actual results or future events, circumstances or developments could differ, possibly materially, from those that OceanFirst or Partners Bancorp anticipated in its forward-looking statements, and future results and performance could differ materially from historical performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those included under Item 1A “Risk Factors” in OceanFirst’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, under Item 1A “Risk Factors” in Partners Bancorp’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and those disclosed in OceanFirst’s and Partners Bancorp’s other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as well as the possibility that expected benefits of the Transaction may not materialize in the timeframe expected or at all, or may be more costly to achieve; that the Transaction may not be timely completed, if at all; that prior to the completion of the Transaction or thereafter, OceanFirst’s and Partners Bancorp’s respective businesses may not perform as expected due to transaction-related uncertainty or other factors; that the parties are unable to successfully implement integration strategies related to the Transaction; that required regulatory, stockholder or other approvals, authorizations or consents in connection with the Transaction are not obtained or other customary closing conditions are not satisfied in a timely manner or at all; reputational risks and the reaction of the companies’ stockholders, customers, employees and other constituents to the Transaction; and diversion of management time as a result of the matters related to the Transaction. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the Transaction will be more fully discussed in the prospectus of OceanFirst and proxy statement of Partners Bancorp that will be included in the registration statement on Form S-4 that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the Transaction. The list of factors presented here, and the list of factors that will be presented in the registration statement on Form S-4, is not, and should not be, considered a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. For any forward-looking statements made in this communication or in any documents, OceanFirst or Partners Bancorp claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
[Annualized, pro forma, projected and estimated numbers are used for illustrative purposes only, are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.]
Additional Information about the Proposed Transaction
This communication is being made in respect of the proposed transaction involving OceanFirst and Partners Bancorp.
In connection with the proposed transaction with Partners Bancorp, OceanFirst intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 containing a prospectus of OceanFirst and proxy statement of Partners Bancorp and other documents with the SEC. Before making any voting or investment decision, the investors and stockholders of Partners Bancorp are urged to carefully read the entire prospectus of OceanFirst and proxy statement of Partners Bancorp when they become available and any other documents filed by OceanFirst or Partners Bancorp with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will contain
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important information about OceanFirst, Partners Bancorp and/or the proposed transaction. When available, copies of the prospectus of OceanFirst and proxy statement of Partners Bancorp will be mailed to the stockholders of Partners Bancorp. Partners Bancorp investors and stockholders are also urged to carefully review and consider each of OceanFirst’s and Partners Bancorp’s public filings with the SEC, including but not limited to their respective Annual Reports on Form 10-K, proxy statements, Current Reports on Form 8-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. When available, copies of the prospectus of OceanFirst and the proxy statement of Partners Bancorp also may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. You may also obtain these documents, free of charge, from OceanFirst by accessing OceanFirst’s website at https://oceanfirst.com/ under the tab “Investor Relations” and then under the heading “SEC Filings” or from Partners Bancorp by accessing Partners Bancorp’s website at https://www.partnersbancorp.com/ under the tab “Investor Relations” and then under the heading “SEC Filings.”
Participants in the Solicitation
OceanFirst, Partners Bancorp and certain of their respective directors and executive officers, under the SEC’s rules, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies of Partners Bancorp’s stockholders in connection with the OceanFirst–Partners Bancorp transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of OceanFirst and their ownership of OceanFirst common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for OceanFirst’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on April 20, 2021. Information about the directors and executive officers of Partners Bancorp and their ownership of Partners Bancorp’s common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for Partners Bancorp’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on April 7, 2021. Additional information regarding the interests of those participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of Partners Bancorp’s stockholders in connection with the OceanFirst–Partners Bancorp transaction may be obtained by reading the proxy statement of Partners Bancorp and prospectus of OceanFirst regarding the Partners Bancorp transaction when they become available. Once available, free copies of the proxy statement of Partners Bancorp and prospectus of OceanFirst may be obtained as described on the previous page.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
For more information, please contact:
OceanFirst Financial Corp., 110 West Front Street, Red Bank, New Jersey 07701
Attn: Jill Hewitt
Partners Bancorp, 2245 Northwood Drive, Salisbury, Maryland 21801
Attn: Betsy Eicher, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Secretary
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP. | ||
/s/ Michael J. Fitzpatrick | ||
Name: | Michael J. Fitzpatrick | |
Title: | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
Dated: November 4, 2021