News
October 4, 2017Berkshire Hills and Commerce Bancshares Announce Receipt of Regulatory Approvals and Targeted Closing Date of Pending Merger
Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) and Commerce Bancshares Corp. announced today that all regulatory approvals relating to the merger of Commerce with and into Berkshire have been received. Commerce shareholders previously approved the merger at a special meeting of shareholders on September 21, 2017. The merger is targeted to close on or about October 13, 2017.
With this acquisition, Berkshire will add sixteen branches in the Worcester and Boston areas. The merger further adds approximately $1.9 billion in assets, allowing Berkshire to fully absorb the earnings impacts associated with crossing $10 billion in assets, based on expected operations after merger integration is completed.
As previously announced, upon completion of the merger, Commerce shareholders will be entitled to receive 0.93 shares of Berkshire common stock for each share of Commerce common stock. The exchange ratio is fixed and the transaction is expected to qualify as a tax-free exchange for shareholders of Commerce Bancshares Corp. Merger consideration is expected to include non-voting, convertible preferred stock pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement.
