By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

The latest acquisition by First Niagara Financial Group Inc. is slated to close no earlier than April 15, according to a new regulatory filing.

The Buffalo parent of First Niagara Bank is in line to purchase NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. of New Haven, Conn.

The deal, which would expand First Niagara's footprint to Connecticut and Massachusetts, still must be approved by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Connecticut Banking Commissioner. It received the go-ahead April 1 from the Federal Reserve Board.

First Niagara announced in August that it intended to purchase NewAlliance and its entire 88-branch network for $1.5 billion, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

NewAlliance's assets total $9 billion. First Niagara currently has $21 billion in assets, 256 branches in New York and Pennsylvania and $13 billion in deposits.