Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) has agreed to acquire digital small business banking platform Bluevine Inc. for approximately $340 million, a deal designed to expand Valley’s nationwide small business franchise, strengthen its deposit base and accelerate its digital and artificial intelligence capabilities.
Under the definitive agreement, Valley expects to pay approximately 75% of the consideration in cash and 25% in Valley common stock, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in early 2027, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, Bluevine serves approximately 175,000 active small business customers through a digital platform that combines business checking, payments, bill pay, invoicing, lending and financial management tools.
The acquisition will also bring Valley approximately $2.1 billion in digitally sourced, low-cost deposits. Bluevine’s platform-generated deposits increased at an approximately 35% compound annual growth rate from 2023 through the second quarter of 2026, according to the companies.
Approximately 99% of those deposits currently come from customers who are not borrowers, providing Valley with what it views as a diversified source of relationship-driven core funding.
For Valley, which has more than $66 billion in assets, the transaction adds a nationwide digital customer acquisition channel to a banking model traditionally centered on branch and relationship-based services. Valley operates more than 220 branches and commercial offices across New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Arizona while serving customers nationwide.
“The acquisition of Bluevine directly advances the strategic priorities we have previously communicated to our shareholders,” Valley Chairman, President and CEO Ira Robbins said. “It is expected to enhance our core funding capabilities, add a proven small business growth platform and meaningfully accelerate our digital and AI capabilities.”
Valley expects the combination to create opportunities to offer its broader suite of treasury management, credit, insurance, wealth management and capital markets services to Bluevine customers. Valley’s existing small business customers, meanwhile, are expected to gain access to Bluevine’s integrated digital banking platform.
The acquisition also represents a technology investment for Valley. Bluevine will bring approximately 180 research and development professionals and engineers, primarily located in Redwood City, California; Jersey City; Salt Lake City; and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Bluevine’s technology organization includes engineering, product, data science and AI capabilities focused on small business banking and financial workflows. Valley expects those resources to support a longer-term strategy of developing more technology internally and reducing its reliance on third-party software and service providers.
The bank said owning more of those capabilities could provide greater control over its customer experience and shorten the time required to introduce new products and services.
“By combining Valley’s balance sheet and product capabilities with Bluevine’s digital platform and customer-acquisition engine, we can accelerate our aspiration to be the bank of choice for small businesses across the country,” Robbins said.
Bluevine has served more than 415,000 businesses since its founding, including approximately 175,000 active customers as of June 2026. The company was named Best Overall Small Business Bank by Money.com and Best Online Business Checking Account by NerdWallet in 2026.
Bluevine co-founder and CEO Eyal Lifshitz will join Valley as head of small business banking after the transaction closes.
“Valley shares that commitment and brings the balance sheet capacity, relationship banking expertise and broader capabilities necessary to support our customers through every stage of their journey,” Lifshitz said. “Together, we will be able to expand our impact while preserving the technology, customer focus and entrepreneurial culture that have driven Bluevine’s success.”
Financially, Valley expects the acquisition, including anticipated synergies, to be approximately 8% accretive to estimated 2028 earnings per share. The transaction is expected to produce approximately 5% tangible book value dilution at closing, with Valley estimating an earn-back period of approximately three years.
Beyond the immediate financial impact, the transaction gives Valley a scaled digital small business platform that it can combine with its existing balance sheet, banking products and physical distribution network. Bluevine, in turn, gains access to a broader set of financial services and the resources of a regional bank with more than $66 billion in assets.
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is serving as financial adviser to Valley, while Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is its legal counsel. Financial Technology Partners acted as exclusive adviser to Bluevine and its Board of Directors, with Sidley Austin LLP serving as Bluevine’s legal counsel.
