PITTSFIELD, Mass., Aug. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills
Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) has completed the acquisition of
Firestone Financial Corp. effective today. Firestone is now known
as "Firestone Financial, LLC" and operating as a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Berkshire Bank.
"We are pleased to welcome the customers, employees, and
shareholders of Firestone to America's Most Exciting Bank," stated
Berkshire President and CEO, Michael P.
Daly. "This combination increases the client offerings
for both companies, diversifies our loan portfolio and provides a
valuable future growth channel. We look forward to helping
Firestone achieve its goals and to facilitating its continued
growth."
The acquisition is priced at 130% of Firestone's adjusted
tangible book value as of August 7,
2015. The deal value is estimated to be approximately
$53 million, with 75% of the
consideration being paid in BHLB common stock and 25% being paid in
cash. The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to
Berkshire's earnings per share in
2016, and to benefit profitability and capital metrics. The
transaction is expected to be $0.08
dilutive to Berkshire's tangible
book value per share, with a related payback period of
approximately 2.5 years.
Berkshire now has over
$7.5 billion in assets and 93
branches serving New England and Central
New York, along with loan production offices in the
Boston area. As a result of
the merger, Berkshire's
outstanding common stock has increased to approximately 30.9
million shares, resulting in a market capitalization of
approximately $900 million.
BACKGROUND
Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of
Berkshire Bank – America's Most Exciting Bank®. The Company has
over $7.5 billion in assets and 93
full-service branch offices in Massachusetts, New
York, Connecticut, and
Vermont providing personal and
business banking, insurance, and wealth management services.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This document contains
forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are several factors that
could cause actual results to differ significantly from
expectations described in the forward-looking statements. For a
discussion of such factors, please see Berkshire's most recent reports on Forms 10-K
and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and
available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Berkshire does not undertake any obligation to
update forward-looking statements.
CONTACTS
Investor Relations Contact
Allison O'Rourke; Senior Vice
President, Investor Relations Officer; 413-236-3149
Media Contact
Elizabeth Mach; Vice President,
Marketing; 413-445-8390
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SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.