Commercial bank BB&T plans $1.8B acquisition of National Penn as part of mid-Atlantic growth

The commercial bank BB&T will renew its push into mid-Atlantic states with a roughly $1.8 billion acquisition of National Penn, which runs branches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

BB&T said it will pay either $13 in cash or a portion of its stock for each National Penn share. That represents a 19 percent premium to the $10.92 closing price of National Penn shares on Monday.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based BB&T announced the acquisition late Monday, a couple of weeks after it closed its purchase of Susquehanna Bancshares Inc., a deal valued at about $2.5 billion.

Shares of BB&T Corp. fell 26 cents to $39.93 Tuesday morning while broader indexes also slipped. Meanwhile, shares of Allentown, Pennsylvania-based National Penn Bancshares Inc. jumped more than 16 percent, or $1.82, to $12.74.