WESTERLY, R.I., Dec. 12,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.
(Nasdaq: WASH) (the "Corporation"), parent company of The
Washington Trust Company, of Westerly (the "Bank"), today announced the
pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of
1,911,764 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of
$34.00 per share. The expected
proceeds to the Corporation, after deducting underwriting discounts
and commissions but before deducting operating expenses payable by
the Corporation, are approximately $61.75
million. In addition, the Corporation has granted the
underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 286,764
shares of the Corporation's common stock at the public offering
price, less underwriting discounts, and commissions. The
offering is expected to close on December
16, 2024, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing
conditions.
The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds of this offering
for general corporate purposes to support continued organic growth
and capital generation, which are expected to include investments
in the Bank and Bank balance sheet optimization strategies
involving the sale of lower-yielding loans and available for sale
debt securities, the repayment of wholesale funding balances and
the purchase of debt securities with current market yields.
BofA Securities is serving as the sole book-running manager for
the offering.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE OFFERING
The common stock offering is being made pursuant to a shelf
registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-274430), which was
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on
September 8, 2023, and declared
effective by the SEC on September 29,
2023. A preliminary prospectus supplement to which this
communication relates has been filed with the SEC, and a prospectus
supplement will be filed with the SEC prior to the closing of the
common stock offering. Before you invest in any securities,
you should read the preliminary prospectus supplement and
accompanying prospectus, including the risk factors set forth
therein, the registration statement and the documents incorporated
by reference therein, and the other documents that the Corporation
has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the
Corporation and the offering. Copies of these documents are
available at no charge by visiting EDGAR on the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov. When available, copies of the preliminary
prospectus supplement, the prospectus supplement and accompanying
prospectus related to the offering may also be obtained from BofA
Securities, NC1-022-02-25, 201, North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attention:
Prospectus Department or by email at
dg.prospectus_requests@bofa.com.
NO OFFER OR SOLICITATION
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, a
solicitation of an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer
to buy any securities. There will be no sale of securities in any
jurisdiction in which such an offering, solicitation or sale would
be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the
securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
SPECIAL NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains statements that are "forward-looking
statements." Forward looking-statements include all statements that
are not historical facts and include any statements regarding the
completion of the offering and the intended use of net proceeds
from the offering. We may also make forward-looking statements in
other documents we file with the SEC, in our annual reports to
shareholders, in press releases and other written materials, and in
oral statements made by our officers, directors, or employees. You
can identify forward-looking statements by the use of the words
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "assume,"
"outlook," "will," "should," and other expressions that predict or
indicate future events and trends and which do not relate to
historical matters. Such forward-looking statements involve certain
risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from
such forward-looking statements. A detailed discussion of factors
that could affect our results is included in the Corporation's SEC
filings, including Item 1A. "Risk Factors" of its Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2023. You should not rely on forward-looking statements,
because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and
other factors, some of which are beyond our control. These risks,
uncertainties, and other factors may cause our actual results,
performance, or achievements to be materially different from the
anticipated future results, performance, or achievements expressed
or implied by the forward-looking statements. The Corporation
undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to
conform the statement to actual results or changes in our
expectations, except as required by law.
ABOUT WASHINGTON TRUST
BANCORP, INC.
Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., NASDAQ: WASH, is the
publicly-owned holding company of The Washington Trust Company
("Washington Trust", "the Bank"), with $7.1
billion in assets as of September 30,
2024. Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is recognized as the
oldest community bank in the nation, the largest state-chartered
bank headquartered in Rhode Island
and one of the Northeast's premier financial services companies.
Washington Trust values its role as a community bank and is
committed to helping the people, businesses, and organizations of
New England improve their financial lives. The Bank offers a wide
range of commercial banking, mortgage banking, personal banking and
wealth management services through its offices in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts and a full suite of convenient
digital tools. Washington Trust is a member of the FDIC and an
equal housing lender.
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SOURCE Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.
