Photo courtesy of Ion Bank.

Naugatuck-based Ion Bank has expanded outside of Connecticut after completing its merger with New Jersey-based Lincoln 1st Bank.

Ion Bank’s parent company, Ion Financial, said in a statement that it acquired Lincoln Park Bancorp on July 1 and merged its subsidiary, Lincoln 1st Bank, into Ion Bank.

Based in Lincoln Park, Lincoln 1st had $264 million in assets as of March 31, according to FDIC data, and Ion Bank now has about $2 billion in assets as a result of the merger.

“We would like to extend a warm welcome to the customers and employees of Lincoln 1st Bank,” Ion Bank President and CEO David Rotatori, said in the statement. “Our merged organizations provide customers access to unique products and services, and we look forward to building a strong future with Ion Bank and Lincoln 1st Bank together as one.”

Lincoln 1st Bank’s acting president and chief operating officer, Philip Vaz, has joined Ion Bank as its New Jersey regional president. David Scelba, a former director with the bank, was appointed to Ion Bank’s board of directors.

“We’re proud of what Lincoln 1st Bank has been able to accomplish and excited to join forces with an institution that shares the same commitment and focus that Lincoln 1st Bank had for its customers,” Vaz said in the statement.

The transaction was valued at approximately $7.5 million to Lincoln Park Bancorp’s minority shareholders, who received $10.10 in cash in exchange for each share of Lincoln Park Bancorp common stock.

Rotatori last year told The Commercial Record that the deal would in part help Ion Bank preserve its mutuality.

Ion Bank now has 19 branches in Connecticut and two branches in New Jersey.