Susquehanna Bancshares has signed an agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock in Abington Bancorp in a stock-for-stock deal.

The transaction, estimated to be worth $273 million, will be completed by the third quarter of 2011. Under the terms of the deal, shareholders at Abington will receive 1.32 shares of Susquehanna common stock for each share of Abington common stock. Based on closing prices as of 25 January, the purchase value holds a 13.8 per cent premium over Abington's price.

The combined entity will have around $15 billion in assets, including $10 billion in loans and $10 billion in deposits. Abington's network of 20 branches will all join Susquehanna's 221-strong branch network across the US. Upon completion, Robert White, chairman, president and chief executive of Abington will be appointed to the Susquehanna board and will join the leadership team of the latter's Delaware Valley division.

"We expect that the combination of these two companies will yield expanded services for customers and enhanced opportunities for growth and earnings for shareholders," William J Reuter, chairman and CEO of Susquehanna, said in a statement.

"We anticipate that the investment management expertise provided by Susquehanna’s wealth management subsidiaries in Montgomery County will be a valuable local resource for Abington customers," Reuter added.

Susquehanna is a financial services firm with about $14 billion in assets and manages approximately $6 billion in assets through its wealth management unit. Abington Bancorp, the holding company for Abington Bank, has around $1.2 billion.