Business Combinations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Business Combination and Asset Acquisition [Abstract]

Provident Financial Services, Inc.

On September 26, 2022, the Company entered into definitive merger agreement with Provident Financial Services, Inc. ("Provident") pursuant to which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger. Under the terms of the merger agreement, the Company will merge with and into Provident, with Provident as the surviving corporation, and Lakeland Bank will merge with and into Provident Bank, with Provident Bank as the surviving bank. Following the closing of the transaction, Lakeland shareholders will receive 0.8319 shares of Provident common stock for each share of Lakeland common stock they own.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and on February 1, 2023, shareholders of each company approved the proposed merger. The closing of the merger remains subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of customary regulatory approvals.

The Company incurred merger-related expenses on the anticipated transaction with Provident of $864,000 and $4.0 million during 2023 and 2022, respectively.

1st Constitution Bancorp

On January 6, 2022, the Company completed its acquisition of 1st Constitution Bancorp ("1st Constitution"), a bank holding company headquartered in Cranbury, New Jersey. 1st Constitution was the parent of 1st Constitution Bank, which operated 25 branches in Bergen, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Somerset Counties in New Jersey. This acquisition enabled the Company to broaden its presence in those counties. Effective as of the close of business on January 6, 2022, 1st Constitution merged into the Company and 1st Constitution Bank merged into Lakeland. Pursuant to the merger agreement, the shareholders of 1st Constitution received for each outstanding share of 1st Constitution common stock that they owned at the effective time of the merger, 1.3577 shares of Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. common stock. The Company issued 14,020,495 shares of its common stock in the merger. Outstanding 1st Constitution options were paid out in cash at the difference between $25.55 and an average strike price of $15.95 for a total cash payment of $559,000.

The acquisition was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting and accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the acquisition were recorded at their estimated fair values as of the acquisition date. 1st Constitution's assets were recorded at their preliminary estimated fair values as of January 6, 2022 and 1st Constitution's results of operations have been included in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Income from that date forward.

The assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the acquisition were recorded at their estimated fair values based on management's best estimates using information available at the date of the acquisition, including the use of a third-party valuation specialist. The calculation of goodwill was subject to change for up to one year after the closing date of the transaction as additional information relative to closing date estimates and uncertainties becomes available. No adjustments were made in the year after the close of the acquisition and all accounting is considered final. 1st Constitution's results of operations have been included in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Income from January 6, 2022.

The following table summarizes the estimated fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed at the date of acquisition for 1st Constitution.


(in thousands)
Assets acquired:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	326,236
Securities, available for sale	217,774
Securities, held to maturity	124,485
Federal Home Loan Bank stock	1,247
Loans held for sale	4,620
Loans	1,095,266
Premises and equipment	13,748
Right-of-use assets, operating lease	12,991
Goodwill	115,552
Identifiable intangible assets	9,018
Bank owned life insurance	37,580
Accrued interest receivable and other assets	8,820
Total assets acquired	1,967,337

Deposits	(1,650,613)

Subordinated debt	(14,734)
Operating lease liabilities	(12,991)
Other liabilities	(3,257)
Total liabilities assumed	(1,681,595)
Net assets acquired	$	285,742

Direct costs related to the 1st Constitution acquisition were expensed as incurred. The Company recorded $4.6 million and $1.8 million in merger-related expenses related to the 1st Constitution acquisition in 2022 and 2021, respectively.