West Springfield-based United Financial Bancorp, the holding company for United Bank, has submitted a proposal to the board of directors of Worcester-based CNB Financial Corp. to acquire CNB and its subsidiary Commonwealth National Bank, for $10 per share, an offer it believes is "superior" to one submitted by Berkshire Hills Bancorp last month.
Under the terms of the proposal, the transaction would be valued at approximately $22.8 million.
CNB shareholders would be permitted to elect between stock and cash, provided that the total cash paid by the company does not exceed 50 percent of the total consideration paid.
"We have followed the progress of the Commonwealth franchise for some time and we are very interested in expanding our branch network into the Worcester market," said Richard B. Collins, president and chief executive officer of United Financial Bancorp, in a statement. "We have the capital, we are familiar with the Worcester area and we know the Commonwealth team. We believe a combination of our two companies would be an excellent entrance into a larger and contiguous market for United Bank."
CNB has nearly $300 million in assets and operates six banking offices in the greater Worcester area. United Financial Bancorp had assets of $1.24 billion as of March 31.
