Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., parent company of Pittsfield-based Berkshire Bank, announced the completed acquisition of Beacon Federal Bancorp, Inc., a nearly $1 billion bank with seven offices headquartered in East Syracuse, N.Y. Beacon Federal has been merged into Berkshire Bank.

"We are pleased to expand our Central New York presence in this partnership with Beacon," Berkshire CEO Michael P. Daly said in a statement. "We now have a total of 10 offices serving the Syracuse/Rome/Utica area. We have been working closely with the Beacon team to prepare for this merger, and I am delighted with their customer service orientation and eagerness to be part of our team. We welcome our new shareholders from Beacon and we are confident that this partnership will benefit existing and new shareholders."

With the completion of this merger, Berkshire will have assets totaling approximately $5.5 billion, with a total of 73 branches serving Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Vermont (excluding two Beacon Tennessee branches which are intended to be divested). Berkshire’s outstanding shares will total approximately 25 million shares, resulting in a market capitalization exceeding $550 million.