Sunnyside sale saga nears its conclusion

Sunnyside Bancorp in Irvington, N.Y., is close to being sold. 

The $94.4 million-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it had secured regulatory approval to sell to Rhodium BA Holdings, a private equity group in New York. Sunnyside said the sale should close by May 31. 

Sunnyside’s shareholders approved the $16.1 million deal on Nov. 10. 

Sunnyside’s efforts to sell itself have taken a number of twists and turns. 

The company originally agreed in March 2021 to sell to DLP Real Estate Capital in Saint Augustine, Fla., for $12.3 million. But Rhodium swooped in with a $14.9 million offer that Sunnyside agreed to the following July. 

Kenneth Torsoe, an investor in Suffern, N.Y., tried to upend the deal last August by announcing that he was willing to pay $20 a share in cash, stating that it represented a 7% premium to Rhodium’s offer.

Rhodium increased the purchase price to its current amount. 

The private equity group agreed to pay Rhodium a $1.5 million fee if it terminated the sale and agreed to indemnify Sunnyside and its directors and officers for up to $1 million of out-of-pocket costs and expenses tied to litigation brought by “certain persons, including stockholders.”