Dime Commercial Bancshares Agrees to Buy ES Bancshares for About $58 Million

Dime Commercial Bancshares, Inc. has agreed to acquire ES Bancshares, Inc. for about $58 million, a cash-and-stock deal that would expand Dime’s New York City presence through five Empire State Bank branches.

ES Bancshares is the parent of Empire State Bank, which operates three branches in Staten Island and two in Brooklyn. As of Sept. 30, Empire had $596 million in assets, $518 million in net loans and $491 million in deposits.

Under the agreement, Dime would pay Empire shareholders $30 million in cash and issue 720,000 common shares at closing. The estimated value is $8.39 per Empire share, based on Dime’s 10-day volume-weighted average share price of $38.55 as of Oct. 19. Shareholders may choose cash or stock, subject to the agreement’s allocation terms.

Dime projects that the acquisition will increase earnings per share by about 3.5% and dilute tangible book value per share by about 2%. The companies expect to close the deal in the first quarter of 2027, pending regulatory approval and a vote by Empire shareholders.