Raleigh, N.C. — Crescent Financial Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: CRFN) said Tuesday that it will acquire Engelhard-based ECB Bancorp Inc. (NYSE AMEX: ECBE) for about $51.6 million, or $17.75 per share.

This is the second merger announcement for Crescent Financial, which owns Cary-based Crescent State Bank, in two months. In August, Crescent State Bank said it would merge VantageSouth Bank into its holdings by the end of the year, with all branches then operating under the VantageSouth Bank name.

ECB Bancorp operates 25 East Carolina Bank branches and one loan production office in eastern North Carolina. The company was founded in 1919.

“The East Carolina Bank team has built a strong community bank with a great reputation and excellent market share,” Scott Custer, president and chief executive of Crescent Financial Bancshares, said in a statement. “This merger will allow the combined company to be the leading community bank from Raleigh east.”

After the deal closes early next year, the combined company will have about $2 billion in assets, $1.7 billion in deposits, $1.2 billion in loans and a network of 45 branches in North Carolina.