SOUTHFIELD, MICH. AND JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Southfield-based Sterling Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: SBT), the holding company of Sterling Bank and Trust FSB, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell all of its shares to Jacksonville-based EverBank Financial Corp. for $261 million. The sale is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by Sterling’s shareholders. Sterling’s board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. As a condition of the sale, Sterling will sell its residential mortgage loans to Delaware-based Bayview Acquisitions LLC. The closing of the loan sale is to occur immediately prior to the closing of the sale of the bank.
In December 2022, Sterling engaged Keefe Bruyette & Woods to serve as financial advisor to assist in exploring and evaluating potential opportunities for a strategic combination with another bank. As that process began, Sterling was also finalizing a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Ultimately, Sterling’s board of directors determined that there was no practical way to pursue any form of standalone independent operations given the extremely high costs required and the multiple years needed to execute a new strategic vision without risking ongoing losses and potential loss of capital,” says Thomas O’Brien, chairman, president and CEO of Sterling.
Upon completion of the proposed sale, Sterling will be merged into EverBank, which will operate all of Sterling’s bank branches except for its Michigan branch. Sterling will shortly commence efforts to close its Michigan branch at the time of completion of the sale. Sterling is expected to voluntarily delist its common stock from Nasdaq immediately following the close of the sale. Sterling operates 26 branches in metro San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City in addition to its operations center and branch in Southfield.