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Opportunities to expand commercial banking and wealth management products in Boston and the North Shore are key reasons behind Rockland Trust Co.’s decision to acquire East Boston Savings Bank.

The banks announced Thursday that Rockland Trust’s parent company would acquire East Boston Savings Bank in an all-stock deal valued at $1.15 billion. The boards of each company have unanimously approved the transaction, and the merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and other closing conditions.

Shareholders of East Boston Savings Bank’s parent company, Meridian Bancorp Inc., will receive 0.2750 shares of common stock of Rockland Trust’s parent company, Independent Bank Corp., for each share of Meridian common stock. The deal represents 150 percent of Meridian’s tangible book value.

In a conference call Friday to discuss the deal, Rockland Trust CEO Christopher Oddleifson said the deal was consistent with Rockland Trust’s view that acquisitions should focus on contiguous or overlapping markets, noting that this deal would augment Rockland Trust’s presence in the Boston metropolitan statistical area, which the bank had been growing in recent years.

He added that the deal would give Rockland Trust a commercial loan portfolio of more than $11 billion, giving it the top ranking in the Boston MSA among banks based in Massachusetts.

“East Boston Savings has a very strong commercial banking orientation which fits quite nicely with our own proven strength in this area,” Oddleifson said.

Oddleifson pointed to the role East Boston Savings Bank’s president and CEO, Richard Gavegnano, has had in growing the $6.5 billion-asset East Boston Savings Bank. As part of the deal, Gavegnano will be a business development consultant for Rockland Trust for three years, and key team members from East Boston Savings Bank will be retained.

Both banks take a relationship-based approach to lending, Oddleifson said. In response to an analyst’s question about retaining members of East Boston Savings’ lending team, he said John Migliozzi, East Boston’s executive vice president of lending, and Frank Romano, executive vice president of corporate banking, would join Rockland Trust. He added that the process for retaining the lending teams would begin on Monday.

“We’re very, very eager to retain those teams,” Oddleifson said.

Ed Merritt, East Boston Savings’ executive vice president of business development and community relations, will also join Rockland Trust.

Rockland Trust Chief Financial Officer Mark Ruggiero said that the bank’s wealth management division in the first quarter reached $5 billion in assets under management for the first time. Rockland Trust during the call noted that the demographics of East Boston Savings’ footprint, which has a median household income over $96,000, would present opportunities for cross-selling the wealth management products. Ruggeiro said Rockland Trust’s branches have had a significant role in building the wealth management business.

Oddleifson said the bank has not finalized decisions about branch consolidation. East Boston Savings Bank has 42 full-service locations, one mobile branch and three loan centers in the Greater Boston area. Rockland Trust has approximately 100 retail branches, commercial and residential lending centers, and investment management offices in Greater Boston, the South Shore, Cape Cod and the Islands, Worcester County and Rhode Island.

Rockland Trust will have about $20 billion in assets following the acquisition.

Rockland Trust Sees Lending Opportunities in Merger

by Diane McLaughlin time to read: 2 min
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