Boston-area community banks to merge in all-stock deal

Cambridge Bancorp said it would bolster its presence in the northern suburbs of Boston with the $63 million acquisition of Northmark Bank in North Andover, Massachusetts.

The all-stock deal, announced after markets closed Monday, is expected to close in late 2022. It would give Cambridge, based in its namesake city, three branches in new markets — one each in North Andover, Andover and Winchester, Massachusetts.

“These locations are a logical extension of our market,” Denis Sheahan, chairman and CEO of the $5 billion-asset Cambridge, said in a press release.

At the end of the first quarter, Northmark had approximately $442 million of total assets, $314 million of gross loans and $381 million of deposits. The combined company is expected to have nearly $5.5 billion of assets, $3.7 billion of loans and $4.9 billion of deposits, along with Cambridge's $4.7 billion of wealth management assets.

Cambridge said the transaction is projected to be 5.8% accretive to its 2023 earnings per share. It also expects roughly 1.7% dilution to tangible book value per share and an earn-back period of two years and three months.

Buying Northmark would extend Cambridge’s recent spate of acquisitions in New England.

In 2020, Cambridge acquired the $1 billion-asset Wellesley Bancorp in Wellesley, Massachusetts, gaining offices throughout Boston. In 2019 it acquired the $556 million-asset Optima Bank & Trust in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, picking up branches throughout southeastern New Hampshire.

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Community banking M&A
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