Jacksonville, Florida-based EverBank and Seattle-based WaFd will merge to create a $75 billion-asset bank, the companies said Monday.

The banks peg the value of the deal at $3.9 billion. That value stems from a maximum of 107.7 million shares WaFd would issue, based on the Seattle bank’s $36.30-per-share stock price from Friday, according to an investor presentation.  

Under the terms of the deal, estimated to close in the first quarter of 2027, EverBank’s holding company will merge into WaFd’s. But the surviving entity will change its name to EverBank Financial Corp. and trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol EVBK, the companies said.

As for the banking subsidiaries, WaFd Bank – state-chartered in Washington – will merge into EverBank, which is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The boards of the bank and holding company will have 13 directors each: seven from EverBank and six from WaFd, the companies said. EverBank CEO Greg Seibly will serve as chief executive of the surviving bank, and WaFd CEO Brent Beardall will be its president, the companies said.

“Since 2023, EverBank has been on a journey to transform itself into a high performing bank sharply focused on enabling our consumer and business clients to make the most of their money,” Seibly said in a statement Monday. “Simply put, our two banks are stronger together.”

In 2023, funds managed by investors Stone Point Capital, Warburg Pincus, Reverence Capital Partners, Sixth Street and Bayview Asset Management bought TIAA’s banking arm and rebranded it EverBank – a legacy name used by a lender TIAA acquired in 2017.

A year later, EverBank announced it would buy Michigan-based Sterling Bank – a transaction that would give the Florida lender 24 added locations in California.

That presence, in turn, became a draw for WaFd. In a statement Monday, Beardall said EverBank’s California footprint adds “needed scale … to better serve our clients.”

“This opportunity to partner with EverBank is an elegant fit,” Beardall said. “Both banks bring exceptional credit quality and strong capital to the partnership.”

Additionally, WaFd’s “core deposits supplement EverBank’s direct consumer online bank,” and its “extensive commercial real estate lending expertise will enrich their robust commercial and industrial lending channels,” he said.

In short, Seibly told The Wall Street Journal, “the strength on one side complements a gap on the other side.”

Apart from $75 billion in assets, the combined bank would count $59 billion in deposits and $58 billion in loans, according to the investor presentation.

About $47 billion of the combined bank’s assets will come from EverBank, and $28 billion from WaFd – along with the lion’s share of what will become a 254-branch network.

Both banks have dovetailed on commercial banking in recent years, de-emphasizing residential lending. WaFd has grown out its business banking offerings while maintaining its consumer footprint.

The transaction could prove a boost to WaFd’s wealth management platform as EverBank’s affluent client base flows in.

Besides Seibly and Beardall, the management team looks to include EverBank CFO Pat Rusnak, WaFd Chief Operating Officer Kim Robison and EverBank General Counsel Mark Baum, according to the investor presentation. EverBank’s chief risk officer, Seth Waller, will serve as the combined bank’s chief credit officer. EverBank’s chief compliance officer, Mercy Anne Martin, will be the combined bank’s CRO, the presentation indicated. Robert Radway, EverBank’s chair, will serve as chair of the combined bank.

Monday’s deal lends credence to a Wall Street Journal report last month, indicating EverBank was for sale.

“We’ve always considered a number of options for the bank’s future – including acquisitions; a potential sale of the bank or merger; or an initial public offering,” EverBank said in a statement at the time. “We continue to be enormously optimistic about the bank’s potential for growth and performance.”

The banks estimate Monday’s transaction will generate a return on tangible common equity of roughly 15% after cost synergies. For WaFd, in particular, earnings-per-share accretion is expected to reach 29% in 2027, with an earn-back period of less than two years for tangible book value dilution, the banks said.

Once the deal is completed, EverBank’s investors will own 59.2% of the surviving company, while WaFd investors will own 40.8%.