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The top 200 community banks and thrifts as ranked by three-year average ROE.
April 29 -
The Community Bank, a struggling mutual thrift in Massachusetts, has given up its bid to stay independent and will instead merge with Eastern Bank, the state's largest financial institution.
July 27
Eastern Bank in Boston has agreed to acquire Centrix Bank & Trust in New Hampshire in what would be Eastern's first expansion outside Massachusetts.
The $8.7 billion-asset Eastern said it would pay $134 million in cash for Centrix, a 49% premium over Centrix's stock price of $27.50 per share, at the close of Monday trading. The deal requires approval from regulators and Centrix shareholders. The banks expect the deal to close in the fall.
Eastern is the country's largest mutual thrift. It has nearly 100 offices in Massachusetts.
The $909 million-asset Centrix, established in 1999, operates eight offices in New Hampshire, in the state's largest cities Manchester, Nashua and Portsmouth and in the state capital of Concord. Centrix was ranked the 77th-best performing community bank by American Banker in April, based on its average return on equity of 10.4% for the past three years.
The Centrix deal is Eastern's first bank acquisition since it bought Community Bank in Brockton, Mass., in 2012. Its deal for Centrix would be Eastern's sixth acquisition since 2005.
RBC Capital Markets was financial adviser to Eastern and Goodwin Procter gave it legal counsel. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods advised Centrix and Nutter McClennen & Fish was its legal counsel.
