NEW YORK, May 29, 2026, 19:05 EDT
Northfield Bancorp Inc. stock edged down 0.6% to $14.18 by late Friday, putting the company’s market cap near $592 million. It was a muted session, with shares moving in a narrow band from $14.15 to $14.27 and around 266,000 shares changing hands.
Why does the small move count? Northfield isn’t behaving like a typical regional-bank earnings trade anymore. It’s now moving on a merger-arb spread—the difference between the target’s share price and what investors think they’ll get if the deal completes.
Northfield’s next key date is June 25, when shareholders are due to vote on the merger with Columbia Financial, according to a definitive proxy. Columbia investors have their own meeting the same day.
Columbia is set to buy Northfield in a deal worth about $597 million. Northfield shareholders can take new Columbia stock or cash at $14.25, $14.50, or $14.65 a share, based on Columbia’s final outside valuation. No more than 30% of Northfield’s shares can be cashed out. Columbia CEO Thomas J. Kemly said Northfield is “an excellent deposit franchise with a conservative credit culture.” Northfield CEO Steven M. Klein called the deal one that could create “enormous value and opportunity.” Northfield Bancorp
Columbia still has steps to finish before closing its Northfield deal. The company said it got key regulatory and conditional Fed and OCC approvals for the acquisition, but it needs to wrap up its second-step conversion—moving from mutual holding-company oversight to a fully public stock structure—and has to sell at least 142.4 million shares in the offering. Columbia flagged risks tied to needed shareholder sign-offs, a possible change in final appraisal, possible legal action, interest rates, borrower pressure and dilution from issuing new stock.
Regional bank stocks ticked up. Columbia climbed 0.4% to $20.13. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF gained 0.1%. Provident Financial Services inched up 0.1%. OceanFirst Financial barely moved.
Northfield’s last quarterly numbers gave deal desks a little footing, but traders said that wasn’t the main story Friday. The company posted first-quarter net income of $11.8 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, with net interest income at $37.0 million. Net interest margin climbed to 2.76%. CEO Klein called it “strong financial results,” adding merger planning is “progressing well.” GlobeNewswire
Columbia is set to buy Northfield’s branch network, which dates back to 1887 and includes 37 locations in Staten Island, Brooklyn and New Jersey. The deal gets Columbia a stable local deposit base at a time when scale and funding costs matter.
