MSB Financial Corp. (MSBF)

MSB Financial Corp. was the holding company for Millington Bank, a community savings bank in north-central New Jersey. The bank took deposits and made residential mortgage, commercial real estate, construction and business loans to households and small businesses through a handful of branches in Morris and Somerset counties. Millington Bank had served its local communities for many decades and kept a conservative lending approach.

The company first sold a minority stake to the public in 2007 while remaining majority-owned by a mutual holding company. It later completed a second-step conversion that turned it into a fully public stock company, and its shares traded on Nasdaq under the symbol MSBF. Like many small thrifts, it focused on growing commercial lending to improve returns. The company also bought back shares to improve shareholder returns.

In 2020 Kearny Financial Corp., the parent of Kearny Bank and one of the larger savings institutions in New Jersey, agreed to acquire MSB Financial. Under the merger terms, each MSB share could be exchanged for 1.3 shares of Kearny common stock or $18.00 in cash, with elections prorated so that 90% of the total consideration was paid in stock.

The merger closed on July 10, 2020, and was announced on July 13. MSB Financial stock was removed from Nasdaq and Millington Bank was folded into Kearny Bank, extending Kearny's branch network into Somerset and Morris counties. Former MSB shareholders who took stock now hold shares of Kearny Financial, which trades as KRNY. The deal was one of several Kearny used to grow in New Jersey.