Liberty Bell Bank, of Evesham, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Delmar Bancorp of Delaware, parent company of The Bank of Delmarva.

The all-stock deal is worth roughly $16 million.

The merger gives Delmar its first entry into the southern New Jersey and suburban Philadelphia market. In addition to its headquarters, Liberty Bell has branches in Moorestown and Cherry Hill. As of March 31, the bank had approximately $149.9 million in assets.

The combined company will have approximately $668.6 million in assets.

"We are extremely excited about the proposed acquisition of Liberty and the transformative opportunities the combination creates for us," Delmar president and CEO John W. Breda said in a statement. "We are familiar with the market and believe that it provides substantial opportunities for growth of the combined bank."

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017 or the first quarter of 2018. Liberty will continue to operate under its existing name, as a division of The Bank of Delmarva.

"We are thrilled to have found such a strong and high caliber institution as Delmar Bancorp to merge with," said Liberty president and CEOBenjamin F. Watts. "This partnership will serve our shareholders, our employees, our customers and our community well."

Liberty Bell is the second Burlington County-based bank to announce mergers this summer. Early last month, Sun Bancorp of Mount Laurel agreed to be acquired by OceanFirst Financial Corp. of Toms River in a cash and stock deal worth approximately $487 million.

Once those mergers are complete, only two banks will have headquarters in Burlington County: Cornerstone Bank, a commercial bank based in Mount Laurel, and Delanco Federal Savings Bank. Fulton Bank of New Jersey, part of Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Fulton Financial Corp., has its corporate offices in Mount Laurel.

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Evesham's Liberty Bell Bank to be acquired - Burlington County Times