The agreement will unite two
relationship-driven organizations and expand Rockland Trust’s
footprint into northern Massachusetts and southern New
Hampshire.
Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ Global Select Market : INDB)
(“Independent”), parent of Rockland Trust Company (“Rockland
Trust”), and Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market:
EBTC) (“Enterprise”), parent of Enterprise Bank and Trust Company
(“Enterprise Bank”), have signed a definitive merger agreement
pursuant to which Enterprise will merge into Independent and
Enterprise Bank will merge into Rockland Trust in a cash and stock
transaction for total consideration valued at approximately $562
million in aggregate, or $45.06 per share based on the Independent
closing price of $71.77 on December 6, 2024.
The merger agreement provides that Enterprise shareholders will
receive 0.60 shares of Independent common stock and $2.00 in cash
for each share of Enterprise common stock they hold. The
transaction is intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization for
federal income tax purposes and to provide a tax-free exchange for
Enterprise shareholders for the Independent common stock portion of
the merger consideration they will receive.
Independent anticipates issuing approximately 7.5 million shares
of its common stock and paying an aggregate amount of $27.1 million
in cash in the merger. The merger is expected to close in the
second half of 2025 subject to customary closing conditions,
including regulatory approvals and approval of Enterprise
shareholders. No vote of Independent shareholders is required.
“Enterprise Bank is the perfect merger partner for Rockland
Trust, consistent with all aspects of our outstanding long-term
merger track record. Rockland Trust and Enterprise Bank share a
deep commitment to strengthening our local communities by putting
people and relationships first. Both institutions believe that
banking is about making a meaningful, positive difference in the
lives of local families and businesses,” said Jeffrey Tengel, the
President and Chief Executive Officer of Independent Bank Corp. “We
look forward to extending Rockland Trust’s footprint in northern
Massachusetts, as well as entering the New Hampshire market.
Together, our combined institution will bring expanded convenience
and additional products and services to the communities we are
proud to serve.”
“From the very start, Enterprise Bank has been dedicated to
helping our communities succeed. That vision has inspired our
long-standing commitment to our customers’ success, product
innovation and community service,” said Steven Larochelle, the
Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. “We are excited
to join an organization that lives these same values. Our customers
will benefit from the additional products, services and technology
Rockland Trust offers while continuing to experience the personal
relationships they deserve.”
Enterprise Bank was founded in 1989 in Lowell, MA and conducts
its business from 27 full-service branches in Massachusetts and New
Hampshire. Rockland Trust does not plan to close any Enterprise
Bank branches and intends to maintain a significant presence in
Lowell. As of September 30, 2024, Enterprise Bank had $4.7 billion
in total assets, $3.8 billion in net loans, $4.2 billion in
deposits and $1.5 billion in wealth assets under management and
administration.
“Following this merger, Rockland Trust will have approximately
$25 billion in assets and $8.7 billion in wealth assets under
administration. In addition to expanding our branch footprint north
and into New Hampshire, this acquisition will further enhance our
core deposit franchise and provide opportunities for us to
introduce our full suite of banking solutions, wealth management
services, and comprehensive financial advice to new businesses and
households,” said Tengel.
The merger is expected to be approximately 16% accretive to
Independent’s earnings per share in 2026, the first full year of
combined operations, assuming full phase-in of cost savings.
Independent anticipates the transaction will meet its three year or
less tangible book value earn back hurdle rate. Combined
merger-related charges are expected to be approximately $61.2
million before tax, in the aggregate. As part of the transaction,
Independent plans to raise approximately $250 million in
subordinated debt prior to the transaction closing. Post close,
Board Chair and Enterprise Bank founding member, George Duncan,
will become an advisor to the Independent Board and Larochelle will
serve as a consultant for Rockland Trust for one year.
Additionally, Independent will appoint two Enterprise directors to
its board following the merger.
The boards of directors of each company have unanimously
approved the transaction. Enterprise’s directors and executive
officers who currently own, in the aggregate, about 20.4% of
Enterprise’s outstanding shares have signed voting agreements
pursuant to which they have agreed to vote their shares in favor of
the merger.
Independent was advised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., A
Stifel Company, and used Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as its
legal counsel. Enterprise was advised by Piper Sandler and used
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as its legal counsel.
CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
At 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday, December 9, 2024
Jeffrey Tengel, Chief Executive Officer and Mark Ruggiero, Chief
Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Consumer Lending,
will host a conference call to discuss the Enterprise Bank
transaction. Internet access to the call is available on the
Company’s website at www.RocklandTrust.com or via telephonic access
by dial-in at 1-888-336-7153 reference: INDB. A replay of the call
will be available by calling 1-877-344-7529, Replay Conference
Number: 6499206 and will be available through December 16, 2024.
Additionally, a webcast replay will be available until December 9,
2025.
ABOUT INDEPENDENT BANK CORP.
Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: INDB) is
the holding company for Rockland Trust Company, a full-service
commercial bank headquartered in Massachusetts. With retail
branches in Eastern Massachusetts and Worcester County as well as
commercial banking and investment management offices in
Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Rockland Trust offers a wide range
of banking, investment, and insurance services to individuals,
families, and businesses. The Bank also offers a full suite of
mobile, online, and telephone banking services. Rockland Trust is
an FDIC member and an Equal Housing Lender.
ABOUT ENTERPRISE BANCORP, INC.
Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: EBTC) is
a Massachusetts corporation that conducts substantially all its
operations through Enterprise Bank and Trust Company, commonly
referred to as Enterprise Bank, and has reported 140 consecutive
profitable quarters. Enterprise Bank is principally engaged in the
business of attracting deposits from the general public and
investing in commercial loans and investment securities. Through
Enterprise Bank and its subsidiaries, the Company offers a range of
commercial, residential and consumer loan products, deposit
products and cash management services, electronic and digital
banking options, as well as wealth management, and trust services.
The Company's headquarters and Enterprise Bank's main office are
located at 222 Merrimack Street in Lowell, Massachusetts. The
Company's primary market area is the Northern Middlesex, Northern
Essex, and Northern Worcester counties of Massachusetts and the
Southern Hillsborough and Southern Rockingham counties in New
Hampshire. Enterprise Bank has 27 full-service branches located in
the Massachusetts communities of Acton, Andover, Billerica (2),
Chelmsford (2), Dracut, Fitchburg, Lawrence, Leominster, Lexington,
Lowell (2), Methuen, North Andover, Tewksbury (2), Tyngsborough and
Westford and in the New Hampshire communities of Derry, Hudson,
Londonderry, Nashua (2), Pelham, Salem and Windham.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This communication may contain forward-looking statements,
including, but not limited to, certain plans, expectations, goals,
projections, and statements about the benefits of the proposed
transaction, the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of
Independent and Enterprise, the expected timing of completion of
the proposed transaction, and other statements that are not
historical facts. Such statements reflect the current views of
Independent and Enterprise with respect to future events and
financial performance, and are subject to numerous assumptions,
risks, and uncertainties. Statements that do not describe
historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs,
expectations, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance, are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements often, but not always, may
be identified by words such as expect, anticipate, believe, intend,
potential, estimate, plan, target, goal, or similar words or
expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as will, may,
might, should, would, could, or similar variations. The
forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe
harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933,
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Independent and Enterprise caution that the forward-looking
statements in this communication are not guarantees of future
performance and involve a number of known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to assess and are
subject to change based on factors which are, in many instances,
beyond Independent’s and Enterprise’s control. While there is no
assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors
is complete, below are certain factors which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained or implied in the
forward-looking statements: (1) changes in general economic,
political, or industry conditions; (2) uncertainty in U.S. fiscal
and monetary policy, including the interest rate policies of the
Federal Reserve Board; (3) volatility and disruptions in global
capital and credit markets; (4) movements in interest rates; (5)
the resurgence of elevated levels of inflation or inflationary
pressures in the United States and the Enterprise and Independent
market areas; (6) increased competition in the markets of
Independent and Enterprise; (7) success, impact, and timing of
business strategies of Independent and Enterprise; (8) the nature,
extent, timing, and results of governmental actions, examinations,
reviews, reforms, regulations, and interpretations; (9) the
expected impact of the proposed transaction between Enterprise and
Independent on the combined entities’ operations, financial
condition, and financial results; (10) the failure to obtain
necessary regulatory approvals (and the risk that such approvals
may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely
affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the
proposed transaction); (11) the failure to obtain Enterprise
shareholder approval or to satisfy any of the other conditions to
the proposed transaction on a timely basis or at all or other
delays in completing the proposed transaction; (12) the occurrence
of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to
the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the merger
agreement; (13) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be
instituted against Independent or Enterprise; (14) the possibility
that the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction are not
realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the
impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the two
companies or as a result of the strength of the economy and
competitive factors in the areas where Independent and Enterprise
do business; (15) the possibility that the proposed transaction may
be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a
result of unexpected factors or events; (16) diversion of
management’s attention from ongoing business operations and
opportunities; (17) potential adverse reactions or changes to
business or employee relationships, including those resulting from
the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; (18)
the dilution caused by Independent’s issuance of additional shares
of its capital stock in connection with the proposed transaction;
(19) cyber incidents or other failures, disruptions or breaches of
our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of
our third-party vendors or other service providers, including as a
result of cyber-attacks; and (20) other factors that may affect the
future results of Independent and Enterprise.
Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially
from those described above can be found in Independent’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in its
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including in the
respective “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of such
reports, as well as in subsequent SEC filings, each of which is on
file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”) and available in the “Investor
Relations” section of Independent’s website, www.rocklandtrust.com,
under the heading “SEC Filings” and in other documents Independent
files with the SEC, and in Enterprise’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in its subsequent
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including in the respective “Risk
Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations” sections of such reports, as
well as in subsequent SEC filings, each of which is on file with
and available in the “Investor Relations” section of Enterprise’s
website, www.enterprisebanking.com, under the heading “SEC Filings”
and in other documents Enterprise files with the SEC.
All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they
are made and are based on information available at that time.
Neither Independent nor Enterprise assumes any obligation to update
forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that
occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required
by applicable law. As forward-looking statements involve
significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised
against placing undue reliance on such statements. All
forward-looking statements, express or implied, included in the
document are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT
This communication is being made with respect to the proposed
transaction involving Independent and Enterprise. This material is
not a solicitation of any vote or approval of the Enterprise
shareholders and is not a substitute for the proxy
statement/prospectus or any other documents that Independent and
Enterprise may send to their respective shareholders in connection
with the proposed transaction. This communication does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy
any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any
jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be
unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the
securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
In connection with the proposed transaction between Independent
and Enterprise, Independent will file with the SEC a Registration
Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) that will that
will include a proxy statement for a special meeting of
Enterprise’s shareholders to approve the proposed transaction and
that will also constitute a prospectus for the Independent common
stock that will be issued in the proposed transaction, as well as
other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction.
BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISIONS, INVESTORS AND
SHAREHOLDERS OF INDEPENDENT AND ENTERPRISE ARE URGED TO READ THE
REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING
THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER
RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR
SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION. Enterprise will mail the proxy statement/prospectus to
its shareholders. Shareholders are also urged to carefully review
and consider Independent’s and Enterprise’s public filings with the
SEC, including, but not limited to, their respective proxy
statements, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Copies of the Registration
Statement and of the proxy statement/prospectus and other filings
incorporated by reference therein, as well as other filings
containing information about Independent and Enterprise, can be
obtained, free of charge, as they become available at the SEC’s
website (http://www.sec.gov). Copies of the proxy
statement/prospectus and the filings with the SEC that will be
incorporated by reference in the proxy statement/prospectus can
also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to
Independent Investor Relations, 288 Union Street, Rockland,
Massachusetts 02370, telephone (774) 363-9872 or to Enterprise
Bancorp, Inc., 222 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA 01852, Attention:
Corporate Secretary, telephone (978) 656-5578.
PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION
Independent, Enterprise, and certain of their respective
directors, executive officers and employees may, under the SEC’s
rules, be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies
from the shareholders of Enterprise in connection with the proposed
transaction. Information regarding Independent’s directors and
executive officers is available in its definitive proxy statement
relating to its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was
filed with the SEC on March 28, 2024, and its Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which was filed with the
SEC on February 28, 2024, and other documents filed by Independent
with the SEC. Information regarding Enterprise’s directors and
executive officers is available in its definitive proxy statement
relating to its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was
filed with the SEC on April 3, 2024, and its Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which was filed with the
SEC on March 8, 2024 and other documents filed by Enterprise with
the SEC. Other information regarding the persons who may, under the
SEC’s rules, be deemed to be participants in the proxy solicitation
of Enterprise’s shareholders in connection with the proposed
transaction, and a description of their direct and indirect
interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in
the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction
and other relevant materials filed with the SEC when they become
available, which may be obtained free of charge as described in the
preceding paragraph.
Category: Merger Releases
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241208169090/en/
INDEPENDENT BANK CORP. / ROCKLAND TRUST: Investor Relations: Gerry Cronin, Director of
Investor Relations Rockland Trust Company (774) 363-9872
Gerard.Cronin@rocklandtrust.com
Media: Emily McDonald, Vice
President, Corporate Marketing Rockland Trust Company (781)
982-6650 Emily.McDonald@rocklandtrust.com
ENTERPRISE BANCORP, INC. / ENTERPRISE BANK: Investor Relations: Joe Lussier, Chief Financial
Officer & Treasurer, EVP Enterprise Bank (978) 656-5578
Joe.Lussier@ebtc.com
Media: Matthew Coggins, Chief
Marketing & Communications Officer Enterprise Bank (978)
656-5708 Matthew.Coggins@ebtc.com
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