TORONTO — Equitable Group Inc. says it has agreed to acquire digital rival Concentra for $470 million, a move that will make it Canada's seventh-largest bank.
The Toronto-based company says the deal will add the Saskatoon bank, the country's 13th largest schedule I bank with $11.3 billion in assets, along with Concerta Trust, the seventh largest in Canada.
Equitable is buying SaskCentral's 84 per cent equity interest in Concerta and has support agreements from Concerta shareholders with the remaining 16 per cent.
It is paying a $35.7-million combined premium and has identified more than $30 million in annual cost savings.
The transaction will add $7.4 billion in personal loans and $1.6 billion in commercial loans as well as $6.3 billion in retail, credit union and commercial deposits.
The acquisition was unanimously approved by the board of Equitable, Concentra and SaskCentral and is expected to close in the second half of the year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.
"This is one of the most important and consequential transactions in our 50 plus history, and it accelerates our growth plan by several years," Equitable CEO Andrew Moor said in a statement, adding the acquisition will serve as a catalyst for growth.
Operating under the trade name Wyth Financial, Concentra is a Canadian mid-market digital bank and the largest provider of wholesale banking and trust solutions to Canadian credit unions with roots going back to the 1950s.
It is the largest provider of wholesale banking and trust solutions for 90 per cent of Canadian credit unions outside Quebec and their more than five million members.
Equitable also announced it was boosting its quarterly dividend by 51 per cent to 28 cents per common share as it posted record $292.5 million net income last year and $80.1 million or $2.29 per share in the fourth quarter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:EQB)
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