BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Business Combination Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 4—BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

On January 20, 2014, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., a New Jersey corporation (“Legacy ConnectOne”). Effective July 1, 2014 (the “Effective Time”), the Company completed the merger contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Merger”) with Legacy ConnectOne, and Legacy ConnectOne merged with and into the Company, with the Company as the surviving corporation. Also at closing, the Company changed its name from “Center Bancorp, Inc.” to “ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.” and changed its NASDAQ trading symbol to “CNOB” from “CNBC.”

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, holders of Legacy ConnectOne common stock, no par value per share (the “Legacy ConnectOne Common Stock”), received 2.6 shares of common stock of the Company, no par value per share (the “Company Common Stock”), for each share of Legacy ConnectOne Common Stock held immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger, with cash to be paid in lieu of fractional shares. Each outstanding share of Company Common Stock remained outstanding and was unaffected by the Merger. Each option granted by Legacy ConnectOne to purchase shares of Legacy ConnectOne Common Stock was converted into an option to purchase Company Common Stock on the same terms and conditions as were applicable prior to the Merger (taking into account any acceleration or vesting by reason of the consummation of the Merger and its related transactions), subject to adjustment of the exercise price and the number of shares of Company Common Stock issuable upon exercise of such option based on the 2.6 exchange ratio.

Immediately following the Merger, Union Center National Bank, a bank organized pursuant to the laws of the United States, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“UNCB”), merged (the “Bank Merger”) with and into ConnectOne Bank, a New Jersey state-chartered commercial bank and a wholly owned subsidiary of Legacy ConnectOne, with ConnectOne Bank as the surviving entity (the “Bank”). The Bank now conducts business only in the name of and under the brand of ConnectOne.

The assets acquired and liabilities assumed have been accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. The assets and liabilities, both tangible and intangible, were recorded at their fair values as of July 1, 2014 based on management’s best estimate using the information available as of the Merger date. The application of the acquisition method of accounting resulted in the recognition of goodwill of $129,105,000 and a core deposit intangible of $5,308,000. As of July 1, 2014, Legacy ConnectOne had assets with a carrying value of approximately $1.5 billion, including loans with a carrying value of approximately $1.2 billion, and deposits with a carrying value of approximately $1.1 billion. The table below summarizes the amounts recognized as of the Merger date for each major class of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, the estimated fair value adjustments and the amounts recorded in the Company’s financial statements at fair value at the Merger date (in thousands):

Consideration paid through Company common stock issued to Legacy ConnectOne shareholders and fair value of stock options acceleration was: $ 264,231

	Legacy ConnectOne carrying value				Fair value adjustments				As recorded at acquisition
Cash and cash equivalents		$	70,318			$	—			$	70,318
Investment securities			28,436				16	(a)			28,452
Restricted investments			13,646				—				13,646
Loans held for sale			190				—				190
Loans			1,304,600				(5,316	)(b)			1,299,284
Bank owned life insurance			15,481				—				15,481
Premises and equipment, net			7,380				(905	)(c)			6,475
Accrued interest receivable			4,470				—				4,470
Core deposit intangible			—				5,308	(d)			5,308
Other real estate owned			2,455				—				2,455
Other assets			10,636				3,650	(e)			14,286
Deposits			(1,049,666	)			(1,676	)(f)			(1,051,342	)
Borrowings			(262,046	)			(1,324	)(g)			(263,370	)
Other liabilities			(10,527	)			—				(10,527	)
Total identifiable net assets		$	135,373			$	(247	)		$	135,126
Goodwill recorded in the Merger										$	129,105

The following provides an explanation of certain fair value adjustments presented in the above table:

a)	Represents the fair value adjustment on investment securities held to maturity.
b)	Represents the elimination of Legacy ConnectOne’s allowance for loan losses, deferred fees, deferred costs and an adjustment of the amortized cost of loans to estimated fair value, which includes an interest rate mark and credit mark.
c)	Represent an adjustment to reflect the fair value of above-market rent on leased premises. The above-market rent adjustment will be amortized on a straight-line basis over the remaining term of the respective leases.
d)	Represents intangible assets recorded to reflect the fair value of core deposits. The core deposit asset was recorded as an identifiable intangible asset and will be amortized on an accelerated basis over the estimated average life of the deposit base.
e)	Consist primarily of adjustments in net deferred tax assets resulting from the fair value adjustments related to acquired assets, liabilities assumed and identifiable intangibles recorded.
f)	Represents fair value adjustment on time deposits as the weighted average interest rates of time deposits assumed exceeded the costs of similar funding available in the market at the time of the Merger, as well as the elimination of fees paid on brokered time deposits.
g)	Represents the fair value adjustment on FHLB borrowings as the weighted average interest rate of FHLB borrowings assumed exceeded the cost of similar funding available in the market at the time of the Merger.

The amount of goodwill recorded represents the excess purchase price over the estimated fair value of the net assets acquired by the Company and reflects the economies of scale, increased market share and lending capabilities, greater access to best-in-class banking technology, and related synergies that are expected to result from the acquisition.

Except for collateral dependent loans with deteriorated credit quality, the fair values for loans acquired from Legacy ConnectOne were estimated using cash flow projections based on the remaining maturity and repricing terms. Cash flows were adjusted by estimated future credit losses and the rate of prepayments. Projected monthly cash flows were then discounted to present value using a risk-adjusted market rate for similar loans. For collateral dependent loans with deteriorated credit quality, fair value was estimated by analyzing the value of the underlying collateral, assuming the fair values of the loan were derived from the eventual sale of the collateral. These values were discounted using marked derived rate of returns, with consideration given to the period of time and costs associated with the foreclosure and disposition of the collateral. There was no carryover of Legacy ConnectOne allowance for loan losses associated with the loans that were acquired, as the loans were initially recorded at fair value on the date of the Merger.

The acquired loan portfolio subject to purchased credit impairment accounting guidance (ASC 310-30) as of July 1, 2014 was comprised of collateral dependent loans with deteriorated credit quality as follows:

	ASC 310-30 Loans
Contractual principal and accrued interest at acquisition		$	23,284
Principal not expected to be collected (nonaccretable discount)			(6,942	)
Expected cash flows at acquisition			16,342
Interest component of expected cash flows (accretable discount)			(5,013	)
Fair value of acquired loans		$	11,329

The core deposit intangible asset recognized is being amortized over its estimated useful life of approximately 10 years utilizing an accelerated method.

Goodwill is not amortized for book purposes; however, it is reviewed at least annually for impairment and is not deductible for tax purposes.

The fair value of retail demand and interest bearing deposit accounts was assumed to approximate the carrying value as these accounts have no stated maturity and are payable on demand. The fair value of time deposits was estimated by discounting the contractual future cash flows using market rates offered for time deposits of similar remaining maturities. The fair value of borrowed funds was estimated by discounting the future cash flows using market rates for similar borrowings.

Direct acquisition and integration costs of the Merger were expensed as incurred and totaled $12.4 million. These items were recorded as merger-related expenses on the statement of operations.

The following table presents selected unaudited pro forma financial information reflecting the Merger assuming it was completed as of January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2013. The unaudited pro forma financial information is presented for illustrative purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of the financial results of the combined companies had the Merger actually been completed at the beginning of the periods presented, nor does it indicate future results for any other interim or full fiscal year period. Pro forma basic and diluted earnings per common share were calculated using the Company’s actual weighted average shares outstanding for the periods presented, plus the incremental shares issued, assuming the Merger occurred at the beginning of the periods presented.

The unaudited pro forma information set forth below reflects the adjustments related to (a) purchase accounting fair value adjustments; (b) amortization of core deposit and other intangibles; and (c) adjustments to interest income and expense due to amortization of premiums and accretion discounts. In the table below, merger-related expenses of $12.4 million were excluded from pro forma non-interest expenses for the year ended December 31, 2014. Income taxes were also adjusted to exclude income tax benefits of $5.6 million related to the merger expenses for the year ended December 31, 2014.

	2014				2013
	(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Net interest income		$	107,988			$	95,749
Noninterest income			8,244				8,053
Noninterest expense			(54,749	)			(45,827	)
Net income			45,981				35,984
Pro forma earnings per share from continuing operations:
Basic		$	1.55			$	0.91
Diluted			1.53				0.90

The Company is still in the process of evaluating the final purchase accounting allocation with respect to its impact on deferred tax assets related solely to the state of New Jersey. Any adjustment resulting from our evaluation of the deferred tax assets would impact goodwill and is not expected to be material. In accordance with FASB ASC 805-10 (Subtopic 25-15), the Company has up to one year from date of acquisition to complete this assessment.