Damariscotta Bank and Trust Co. will merge into Bangor Savings Bank in June or July of 2020, if an agreement between the banks’ parent companies meets with the necessary approvals.
Bangor Bancorp MHC, parent company of Bangor Savings Bank, and Damariscotta Bankshares Inc., parent company of Damariscotta Bank and Trust Co., announced an agreement regarding the merger Tuesday, Dec. 17. The boards of directors of both parent companies and their subsidiary banks unanimously approved the agreement.
“This transaction is beneficial to the shareholders, customers, and communities served by DB&T,” said Scott Conant, president and CEO of Damariscotta Bank and Trust Co. “We are proud of what we have built here at DB&T and are confident that our customers will continue to receive the community banking experience they have come to know in banking with us, while enjoying access to additional products and services that a larger community bank like Bangor Savings Bank can offer.”
“Both organizations are consistently recognized by Best Places to Work in Maine, making this a good opportunity for our employees as well,” Conant said in a statement. “We have confidence everyone involved will continue to be in good hands.”
Bangor Savings Bank is the largest bank in Maine, with 57 branches in Maine and New Hampshire, more than $4.4 billion in assets, and nearly 1,000 employees. Damariscotta Bank and Trust had $198 million in assets at the end of 2018, according to its latest annual report.
Under the terms of the transaction, shareholders of Damariscotta Bankshares Inc. will receive $27 in cash in exchange for each share of common stock, for a transaction valued in aggregate at approximately $35 million, according to the announcement. The consideration represents approximately 185% of Damariscotta’s tangible book value per share as of Sept. 30.
The merger will give Bangor Savings new branch locations in Belfast, Damariscotta, New Harbor, Union, and Warren, strengthening the bank’s position in the Midcoast.
“We’re excited to welcome Damariscotta Bank & Trust to the Bangor Savings Bank family,” Bangor Savings Bank President and CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice said in a statement. “Both banks are deeply committed to their employees, their customers, and the communities they serve. We also share similar values of developing authentic relationships with customers and being their trusted financial advisor.”
“As a mutual bank, we are accountable to our Board, our employees, our customers, and our communities,” Montgomery-Rice said. “Because of that, we’re able to operate independently and retain the personal approach and local perspective of a smaller bank – with a focus on valuing and listening to customers. At the same time, we’ve been able to drive growth and enhance our customers’ experiences by significantly investing in new, convenient branches, safe and secure technology, and new products and services. We feel that makes us a good fit for a great bank like DB&T, and we’re happy that they agree.”
Pending regulatory and Damariscotta shareholder approvals, Bangor Savings Bank intends to complete the transaction in the second quarter of 2020. After completion of the merger, the combined entity is expected to have $4.8 billion in assets and more than 60 branch offices throughout Maine and New Hampshire.
Bangor Savings Bank is committed to the success of the communities in which it operates. That commitment will extend to the existing Damariscotta Bank and Trust offices and surrounding communities that bank has served since the early 1970s.
“If you’re a customer of Damariscotta, nothing is changing right now, and in the future you will get a lot of communication from us,” Montgomery-Rice said.
Bangor Savings Bank does not yet know whether it will lay off any employees as part of the merger. “That will all be determined through the process,” said Kate Rush, senior vice president of community relations.
A group of local businessmen established Damariscotta Bank and Trust in the early 1970s to meet the needs of families and small businesses in the Damariscotta area. The original bank, in downtown Damariscotta, opened in February 1973.
Bangor Savings Bank offers retail banking to consumers as well as comprehensive commercial, corporate, payroll administration, merchant services, and small-business banking services to businesses. The bank, founded in 1852, is in its 167th year. It is on the web at bangor.com.
The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation was created in 1997. Together, the bank and its foundation invested more than $2 million into the community in the form of nonprofit sponsorships, grants, and partnership initiatives last year.
(Eesha Pendharkar, of the Bangor Daily News, contributed to this article.)
