A Rhode Island Bank's Shareholders Get More Time to Mull Offer

Brookline Bancorp Inc. is giving Bancorp Rhode Island Inc. stockholders more time to decide how they would like to be paid for their shares.

Shareholders of the $1.6 billion-asset Bancorp Rhode Island, of Providence, now have until 5 p.m. on Oct. 21 to decide whether to be paid in cash, stock or some combination of them, Brookline said Friday in press release. Bancorp Rhode Island's deal with the $3 billion-asset Brookline, Mass., bank is expected to close this quarter.

Brookline this spring agreed to purchase Bancorp Rhode Island for $234 million in cash and stock. Bancorp Rhode Island shareholders can decide whether to receive $48.25 in cash, or 4.686 shares of Brookline stock, or a mixture of cash and stock, for each of their shares.

Their original deadline was Sept. 26. It was then extended until Friday, and now it has been extended again.

Any Bancorp Rhode Island shareholder who previously submitted an election form and letter of transmittal can change his or her selection.

The equity markets have been chaotic lately, complicating bank mergers. Since the deal was announced April 20, Brookline's shares have dropped about 12%, to $7.89 on Friday. The Nasdaq Bank Index was down about 21% over the same period, to 1,415.26.

The extension is intended to "reduce the potential time between the election deadline and the effective date of the merger," the press release stated.

Bancorp Rhode Island shareholders voted overwhelmingly for the deal last month; regulators still have to approve it.

When the deal was announced, the banks said the total cash consideration would be $121 million and the total stock consideration would be 11 million shares of Brookline stock.