By Austen Hufford 

EverBank Financial Corp. said it is in advanced negotiations with a financial services firm to be acquired for roughly $2.5 billion, potentially leading to one of the biggest banking takeovers since the financial crisis.

The online lender said investors would receive $19.50 a share under the terms being discussed, though it didn't identity the other party. EverBank cautiioned that a deal isn't certain and the terms may change, adding the parties agreed to negotiate exclusively through Aug. 8.

EverBank, based in Jacksonville, Fla., primarily serves its customers online and had $27.4 billion in assets and $18.8 billion in deposits as of June 30. It also markets its products through financial centers in Florida.

The bank was established in 1998 and has grown through a series of acquisitions, including Tygris Commercial Finance Group in 2009, Bank of Florida in 2010 in an FDIC-assisted transaction, and MetLife Inc.'s warehouse finance business.

Shares, which were inactive premarket, jumped 13% to $17.56 on Monday after Bloomberg reported the acquisitions talks.

Ahead of the Bloomberg report, EverBank's market value was about $1.9 billion. The company's 2012 initial public offering priced at $10 a share, and the stock peaked above $21 a share last October, before stumbling in the wake of a disappointing earnings report.

Midsize lenders have been among the most active deal makers in the financial industry these days, as larger banks sit on the sidelines amid heightened regulatory scrutiny since the financial crisis.

News of the potential acquisition Tuesday came as EverBank also reported a sharp drop in second-quarter earnings. Profit fell to $21.6 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with a profit of $41.6 million, or 31 cents a share, a year prior. Excluding one-time items, earnings were 32 cents a share.

Revenue fell 22% to $196.6 million as a gain in net interest income was offset by a decline in noninterest income because of mortgage servicing amortization and losses in loan servicing.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected 36 cents in adjusted per-share profit on revenue of $236.2 million.

Total loan originations fell 11% to $3.08 billion.

In light of the deal talks, the bank canceled its previously scheduled conference call with investors and analysts to discuss the results.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2016 08:09 ET (12:09 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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