M&T Bank: $7B Acquisition Of People’s United
Summary
M&T Bank Corp is closing in on an acquisition deal to buy People’s United Financial for more than $7 billion, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday (Feb. 22), citing sources. This is M&T’s first major takeover since its acquisition of Hudson City Bancorp Inc. in 2015, which was held up for three years due to issues with M&T’s anti-money-laundering and consumer-compliance programs. M&T is one of the biggest regional lenders in the Northeast, with some 40 percent of its portfolio in commercial real estate. People’s United operates about 450 branches, but it is not renewing contracts it has in the Stop & Shop grocery franchise. Regional saturation and technological advances make the landscape fertile for mergers and acquisitions, Pollinate Founder and CEO Alastair Lukies CBE told Karen Webster.