Sandy Spring 2Q Earnings to Be Reduced After Jury Verdict

M&A

Sandy Spring in Md. to Buy CommerceFirst for $25 Million

In what would be its first acquisition since 2007, Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. in Olney, Md., announced late Tuesday that it is buying CommerceFirst Bancorp Inc. for $25.4 million in cash and stock.

By Alan Kline

December 20

Sandy Spring Bancorp (SASR) in Olney, Md., said its second-quarter earnings will be reduced after a Maryland jury awarded a $6.05 million verdict in a case involving a former employee.

The $4.2 billion-asset Sandy Spring said it will reserve an undisclosed amount of funds in the second quarter because of the verdict. Sandy Spring did not specify the size of the potential impact on its earnings.

The verdict included $5 million in punitive damages and $1.05 in compensatory damages. Sandy Spring said it expects the compensatory damages will be covered by insurance.

A jury in Anne Arundel County (Md.) Circuit Court awarded the verdict in a civil case involving a former employee of CommerceFirst Bank. Sandy Spring acquired the Annapolis, Md.-based CommerceFirst in 2012. Little detail was given about the nature of the claim.

We do not believe that Sandy Spring Bank should be held liable for the actions of a former CommerceFirst Bank employee who acted outside the scope of his employment, Daniel Schrider, Sandy Spring's president and chief executive, said in a press release.

Sandy Spring will continue to fight [the outcome of the case] through the appropriate legal channels, Schrider said.

Andy Peters

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