BOSTON and WILLIMANTIC, Conn., May
15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
(NYSE: BHLB) ("Berkshire") and SI
Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIFI) ("SI Financial") announced
today that all regulatory approvals relating to the merger of SI
Financial with and into Berkshire
have been received. SI Financial shareholders previously
approved the merger at a special meeting of shareholders on
April 2, 2019. The merger's
legal closing is expected to be effective at the close of business
on Friday, May 17, 2019, subject to
the satisfaction of customary closing
conditions.
As previously announced, upon completion of the merger, SI
Financial shareholders will receive 0.48 shares of Berkshire common
stock for each share of SI Financial common stock. The
exchange ratio is fixed and the transaction is expected to qualify
as a tax-free exchange for shareholders of SI Financial.
ABOUT BERKSHIRE
HILLS
Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire
Bank, a premier regional bank distinguished by its local
responsiveness and engagement. With corporate headquarters in
Boston, the Company operates in
six Northeastern states, with $12.2
billion in assets and 109 banking offices. Berkshire
Bank, is recognized for its entrepreneurial approach, relationship
customer experience and distinctive culture. Berkshire provides business and consumer
banking, mortgage, wealth management, investment and insurance
services.
ABOUT SI FINANCIAL
SI Financial Group, Inc. is the
holding company for Savings Institute Bank and Trust Company.
Established in 1842, Savings Institute Bank and Trust Company is a
community-oriented financial institution headquartered in
Willimantic, Connecticut. Through
its 23 branch locations, the Bank offers a full-range of financial
services to individuals, businesses and municipalities within its
market area. For more information, visit www.mysifi.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about (1) the benefits of the merger between
Berkshire and SI Financial,
including anticipated future results, cost savings and accretion to
reported earnings that may be realized from the merger; (2)
Berkshire and SI Financial's
plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements
contained in this presentation that are not historical facts; and
(3) other statements identified by words such as "expects,"
"anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates"
or words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those in such statements. The following
factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ
materially from the anticipated results expressed in the
forward-looking statements: the businesses of Berkshire and SI Financial may not be combined
successfully, or such combination may take longer than expected;
the cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or may
take longer than expected; operating costs, customer loss and
business disruption following the merger may be greater than
expected; credit and interest rate risks associated with
Berkshire's and SI Financial's
respective businesses; and difficulties associated with achieving
expected future financial results. Additional factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in
the forward-looking statements include those discussed in
Berkshire's and SI Financial's
reports (such as the Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K) filed with the SEC
and available at the SEC's Internet website (www.sec.gov). All
subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning
the proposed transaction or other matters attributable to
Berkshire or SI Financial or any
person acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements above. Except as required by
law, Berkshire and SI Financial do
not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the
date the forward-looking statement is made.
CONTACTS
Investor Relations: Erin Duggan;
Investor Relations Manager; 413-236-3773
Media: Elizabeth Mach;
Senior Vice President, Marketing Officer; 413-445-8390
SI Financial Group, Inc.: Rheo A.
Brouillard, President and CEO; 860-456-6540
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SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.