Regional lenders Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Brookline strike $1.1 billion merger deal | WSAU News/Talk 550 AM · 99.9 FM

(Reuters) -Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Brookline Bancorp have agreed to merge in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.1 billion, the regional lenders said on Monday, in yet another sign of increasing consolidation within the industry.

Regional lenders that were at the heart of the banking crisis in 2023 have been cutting more deals this year to expand their geographic foothold and better compete with rivals, extending a wave of deals.

The banks, generally categorized as lenders with assets between $10 billion and $100 billion, have been under immense pressure over the past two years, as high interest rates have dampened borrowing, increased competition for deposits and led to larger losses on commercial real estate loans.

SouthState’s acquisition of smaller rival Independent Bank Group is, at $65 billion, the biggest deal by assets this year. UMB Financial’s takeover of Heartland Financial is close behind.

Both Berkshire and Brookline are headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and each hold around $12 billion in assets. The deal is set to create a $24 billion bank with a geographic footprint across five states.

Shares of Brookline were last flat in morning trading. Berkshire shares were last down 1.7%.

The combined company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under a new name and ticker symbol, which will be announced later. The banks expect the deal to close by the second half of next year.

Berkshire’s David Brunelle will be the chairperson of the board of the combined company, while Paul Perrault, the CEO of Brookline, will take over as the top boss.

In conjunction with the deal, Berkshire said it has entered into subscription agreements with investors to raise capital.

Raymond James & Associates acted as exclusive financial adviser to Berkshire on the deal, while Brookline was advised by Hovde Group.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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