Independent Bank To Buy Peoples Federal Bancshares

(RTTNews) - Independent Bank Corp. (INDB), parent of Rockland Trust Co., said Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Peoples Federal Bancshares, Inc. (PEOP), parent of Peoples Federal Savings Bank.

Peoples Federal Savings has eight full-service bank branches, including four within the City of Boston in Brighton, Allston, West Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain. Peoples Federal Savings also has three Norfolk County branch locations in Brookline, Norwood, and Westwood, as well as a West Newton location in Middlesex County. Peoples Federal Savings currently has about $606 million in total assets, $435 million of deposits, and $497 million in loans.

The agreement provides that 60% of outstanding Peoples Federal Bancshares shares will be exchanged for Independent shares at a fixed exchange ratio of .5523 of an Independent share for each Peoples Federal Bancshares share and the remaining 40% of outstanding Peoples Federal Bancshares shares will be exchanged for $21.00 per share in cash. Based upon Independent's $36.17 per share closing price on August 4, the deal is valued at about $130.6 million.

The agreement provides that, effective as of and contingent upon the merger, Independent and Rockland Trust will add to their board of directors one current member of the Peoples Federal Bancshares board of directors.

Independent anticipates that the Peoples Federal Bancshares acquisition will be about $0.02 accretive to 2015 earnings, exclusive of one-time charges, mainly driven by consolidation efficiencies and about $0.02 to $0.03 accretive annually thereafter.

The deal has been approved by the board of directors of each company and is expected close in the first quarter of 2015.