UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): June 30, 2017 (June 29, 2017)

OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	001-11713	22-3412577
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Commission File No.)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

975 HOOPER AVENUE, TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY 08753

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(732)240-4500

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

ý Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 140.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR 230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 5.03Amendment to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year

On June 29, 2017, the Board of Directors of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (“OceanFirst”) approved an amendment to OceanFirst’s Amended and Restated Bylaws (as amended, the “Bylaws”) effective as of that date (the “Bylaw Amendment”). The Bylaw Amendment added a new Article IX, Forum for Adjudication of Certain Disputes, which provides that, unless OceanFirst consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) derivative actions, (ii) actions for breach of fiduciary duties owed by directors, officers, stockholders, employees, or agents of OceanFirst, (iii) actions arising under any provision of the General Corporation Law of Delaware, OceanFirst’s Certificate of Incorporation or OceanFirst’s Bylaws and (iv) actions governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity holding, purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of capital stock of OceanFirst is deemed to have notice of and consented to the provisions of the Bylaw Amendment.

The foregoing description of the Bylaw Amendment does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Bylaw Amendment, which is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 3.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 7.01Regulation FD Disclosure

On June 30, 2017, OceanFirst released a presentation to investors about the Transaction (as defined below). The presentation is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

The preceding information, as well as Exhibit 99.1 referenced therein, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, or incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Item 8.01Other Events

On June 30, 2017, OceanFirst and Sun Bancorp, Inc. (“Sun”) issued a joint press release announcing that OceanFirst and Sun have entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which Sun will merge with and into OceanFirst (the “Transaction”). The joint press release is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.2 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d)    Exhibits. The following exhibits are filed with this report:

Exhibit No.	Description
3.1	Amendment to the Bylaws of OceanFirst
99.1	Investor Presentation, dated June 30, 2017
99.2	Joint Press Release, issued by OceanFirst and Sun on June 30, 2017

Cautionary Notes on Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may include: management plans relating to the proposed transaction; the expected timing of the completion of the proposed transaction; the ability to complete the proposed transaction; the ability to obtain any required regulatory, shareholder or other approvals; any statements of the plans and objectives of management for future operations, products or services, including the execution of integration plans relating to the proposed transaction and the recently completed acquisitions of Cape Bancorp, Inc. (“Cape”) and Ocean Shore Holding Co. (“Ocean Shore”) by OceanFirst; any statements of expectation or belief; projections related to certain financial metrics; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “seek”, “plan”, “will”, “would”, “target” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project” and other similar words and expressions or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time and are beyond our control. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Neither OceanFirst nor Sun Bancorp, Inc. (“Sun”) assumes any duty and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements. Because forward-looking statements are by their nature, to different degrees, uncertain and subject to assumptions, actual results or future events could differ, possibly materially, from those that OceanFirst or Sun anticipated in its forward-looking statements, and future results could differ materially from historical

performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those included under Item 1A “Risk Factors” in OceanFirst’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, those included under Item 1A “Risk Factors” in Sun’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, those disclosed in OceanFirst’s and Sun’s respective other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as well as the possibility that expected benefits of the proposed transaction and the Cape and Ocean Shore acquisitions may not materialize in the timeframe expected or at all, or may be more costly to achieve; that the proposed transaction may not be timely completed, if at all; that prior to the completion of the proposed transaction or thereafter, OceanFirst’s and Sun’s respective businesses may not perform as expected due to transaction-related uncertainty or other factors; that the parties are unable to successfully implement integration strategies related to the proposed transaction and the Cape and Ocean Shore acquisitions; that required regulatory, shareholder or other approvals are not obtained or other customary closing conditions are not satisfied in a timely manner or at all; reputational risks and the reaction of the companies’ shareholders, customers, employees and other constituents to the proposed transaction; and diversion of management time on merger-related matters. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the proposed transaction, will be more fully discussed in the joint proxy statement/prospectus that will be included in the registration statement on Form S-4 that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors to be presented in the registration statement on Form S-4 will be, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward looking statements. For any forward-looking statements made in this report or in any documents, OceanFirst and Sun claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Annualized, pro forma, projected and estimated numbers are used for illustrative purposes only, are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.

Additional Information about the Proposed Transaction

This report is being made in respect of the proposed transaction involving OceanFirst and Sun. In connection with the proposed transaction, OceanFirst intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 containing a joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. Before making any voting or investment decision, the respective investors and shareholders of OceanFirst and Sun are urged to carefully read the entire joint proxy statement/prospectus when it becomes available and any other relevant documents filed by either company with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will contain important information about OceanFirst, Sun and the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders are also urged to carefully review and consider each of OceanFirst’s and Sun’s public filings with the SEC, including but not limited to their Annual Reports on Form 10-K, their proxy statements, their Current Reports on Form 8-K and their Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. When available, copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to the respective shareholders of OceanFirst and Sun. When available, copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus also may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to OceanFirst Financial Corp., 975 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, New Jersey 08753, Attn: Christopher D. Maher.

Participants in the Solicitation

OceanFirst, Sun and certain of their respective directors and executive officers, under the SEC’s rules, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies of OceanFirst’s and Sun’s shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of OceanFirst and their ownership of OceanFirst common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for OceanFirst’s 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on April 26, 2017. Information about the directors and executive officers of Sun and their ownership of Sun’s common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for Sun’s 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on May 30, 2017. Additional information regarding the interests of those participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of OceanFirst’s and Sun’s shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction may be obtained by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available. Once available, free copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

		OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP.
		/s/ Michael J. Fitzpatrick
Date:	June 30, 2017	Michael J. Fitzpatrick
		Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Exhibit Index

Exhibit No.	Description
3.1	Amendment to the Bylaws of OceanFirst
99.1	Investor Presentation, dated June 30, 2017
99.2	Joint Press Release, issued by OceanFirst and Sun on June 30, 2017