Dime to buy Empire State Bank for $58M in all-five-boroughs push
What's the deal? Dime Commercial Bancshares has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire ES Bancshares, parent of Empire State BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, for roughly $58 million. Dime will issue 720,000 common shares and pay $30 million in cash, with Empire shareholders able to elect stock or cash subject to proration. That works out to $8.39 per Empire share, about 1.09x tangible book value.
What's the endgame? The deal deepens Dime's presence in Staten Island and strengthens it in Brooklyn, adding what the bank calls a "granular and low-cost core deposit base." On closing, Dime says it would be one of only a few commercial banks with a ground-level branch presence across all five New York City boroughs.
Who's involved? Empire, based in Staten Island, runs three branches there and two in Brooklyn. As of September 30, 2026, it held about $596 million in assets, $518 million in net loans, and $491 million in deposits. Dime, the holding company for a New York-chartered trust company, has roughly $15 billion in assets.
Why now? "Staten Island is an attractive banking market that has untapped potential for Dime," said Stuart H. Lubow, Dime's president and chief executive officer. Empire chief executive officer Phil Guarnieri said the bank sought a partner with "a relationship-driven approach to banking" and a commitment to local markets.
Dime expects the transaction to deliver about 3.5% earnings-per-share accretion and roughly 2% tangible book value dilution, with an earn-back period of less than three years.
What could go wrong? The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 but still needs regulatory approval and sign-off from Empire shareholders.
The signal: The agreement fits a broader run of community-bank consolidation. In recent months, United CommunityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → agreed to buy Georgia's Peach State Bancshares for about $101 million, while Third CoastDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → announced a roughly $240 million purchase of Great Plains Bancshares to expand into Oklahoma. Dime's deal is more locally focused — a targeted play to strengthen core-market reach rather than make a large geographic leap.
Read more: stocktitan.net
Image credit: Jorge Lascar
