EverBank Financial Corp., the Florida-based parent company of EverBank, N.A., and Seattle-based WaFd Inc. announced Tuesday that they have entered into a definitive agreement for a $3.9 billion reverse merger that will create a larger national banking company.
Under the agreement, EverBank Financial Corp. will merge into WaFd Inc., with WaFd remaining the surviving holding company before changing its name to EverBank Financial Corp. The combined company will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol EVBK.
At the bank level, WaFd Bank will merge into EverBank, N.A., with EverBank continuing as the surviving nationally chartered bank. EverBank is based in Jacksonville and operates consumer and commercial banking businesses nationwide.
Legacy EverBank investors, including funds managed by Stone Point Capital, Warburg Pincus, Reverence Capital Partners, Sixth Street and Bayview Asset Management, along with TIAA, are expected to own about 59.2 percent of the combined company. Existing WaFd shareholders would own about 40.8 percent.
EverBank CEO Greg Seibly will serve as chief executive officer of the combined company, while WaFd CEO Brent Beardall will become president. The new board will have 13 directors, with seven representing legacy EverBank and six representing legacy WaFd.
The companies said the combination is intended to expand scale across commercial and consumer banking, combining WaFd’s western U.S. branch network and commercial lending operations with EverBank’s digital banking platform and specialty lending businesses. The combined bank is expected to operate more than 250 financial centers.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval, WaFd shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions.