Contact Information: CONTACT: First Morris Bank & Trust: William Keefe EVP / CFO (973) 656-2171 Email Contact
First Morris Bank & Trust Stockholders Approve Merger Agreement With Provident Financial Services, Inc.
| Source: First Morris Bank & Trust
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 22, 2007 -- First Morris Bank & Trust (OTCBB : FMJE )
("First Morris") today announced that its stockholders approved the merger
agreement with Provident Financial Services, Inc. ("Provident"), whereby
First Morris will merge with and into Provident's bank subsidiary, The
Provident Bank. The merger, which has received approvals from the New
Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation, is expected to close as of April 1, 2007.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, 50% of First Morris common stock
will be converted into Provident common stock and the remaining 50% will be
converted into cash. Each First Morris stockholder will have the option to
elect to receive either 2.1337 shares of Provident common stock or $39.75
in cash, or a combination of Provident 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. Materials to be used in making such an election were mailed to
First Morris stockholders of record as of March 2, 2007. The deadline for
the return of the election forms is March 29, 2007.
About First Morris
First Morris was established in 1969. At December 31, 2006, First Morris
had total assets of $585 million and total stockholders' equity of $42
million. It operates nine branch offices in Morris County, New Jersey.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects,"
"anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" or
words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based upon
the current beliefs and expectations of Provident's and First Morris'
management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and
competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our
control. Actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results
discussed in these forward-looking statements. The following factors,
among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the
anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking
statements: (1) the businesses of Provident and First Morris may not be
combined successfully, or such combination may take longer to accomplish
than expected; (2) the cost savings from the merger may not be fully
realized or may take longer to realize than expected; (3) operating costs,
customer loss and business disruption following the merger, including
adverse effects on relationships with employees, may be greater than
expected; (4) adverse governmental or regulatory policies may be enacted;
(5) the interest rate environment may further compress margins and
adversely affect net interest income; (6) the risks associated with
continued diversification of assets and adverse changes to credit quality;
(7) difficulties associated with achieving expected future financial
results; (8) competition from other financial services companies in
Provident's and First Morris' markets; (9) the risk of an economic slowdown
that would adversely affect credit quality and loan originations.
Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed in the forward-looking statements are discussed in
Provident's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and
available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov).
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the
proposed transaction or other matters attributable to Provident or First
Morris or any person acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in
their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Except as required by
law, Provident and First Morris do not undertake any obligation to update
any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur
after the date the forward-looking statement is made.