M&T Bank signs deal to buy People’s United for more than $ 7 billion

M&T Bank Corp. is set to close a deal to buy People’s United Financial Inc. for more than $ 7 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in the latest in a series of regional bank mergers.

The companies are discussing an all-equity deal that could be announced as early as this week, the people said, assuming the talks don’t collapse. Headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut, People’s United has a market value of approximately $ 6.6 billion, while M&T, based in Buffalo, New York, is worth more than $ 19 billion.

Together, the banks are said to have over $ 200 billion in assets, with a branch network concentrated in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions. The deal would facilitate M & T’s expansion into the Boston market and strengthen its position in New York and Connecticut.

For M&T, a serial acquirer, this would be its first major takeover since its acquisition of Hudson City Bancorp Inc. in 2015. The deal was delayed three years after regulators discovered “material weaknesses” in the fight against money laundering and M&T consumers. compliance programs.

M&T is one of the largest regional lenders in the Northeast, with $ 142.6 billion in assets at the end of 2020. Commercial real estate loans represent nearly 40% of its portfolio, some of which goes to the lending sector. struggling hotel industry in New York. But the bank’s lending performance, as well as that of many of its regional peers, has been better than expected over the past year.