Yesterday in the state of Maine, Camden National Bank announced it was planning to acquire a competitor, The Bank of Maine. The $135 million price tag will make the new entity the largest locally owned bank in the state. Currently, the top spot in the region is occupied by Bangor Savings Bank, which would move to the number two position if the deal is successful.
The product of the acquisition would be an entity with 68 branches from York to Calais, and significantly increase Camdens presence in Portland, where The Bank of Maine is headquartered. The new total of employees will round out at close to 700 individuals, although some branches are most likely going to close down after the deal concludes.
Camden of late has been on a buying spree over the past 30 years having absorbed United Bank in Bangor in the 90’s as well as 15 branches from Bank of America in 2012. It has been looking to add to its portfolio to increase its breadth across the state and does not seem to be planning to stop growing. The key locations they will benefit from in the deal come near the Interstate 95 corridor where much of their tourists enter the state. By scaling up they can also increase their efficiency through economies of scale and investment.
At the end of last year Camden boasted a firm size of 44 branches, holding $2.7 billion in assets and around $1.9 billion in deposits. The Bank of Maine was operating out of 24 branches with $805 million in assets and $650 million in deposit inventory.
Do not expect the deal to come to a close before the end of the third quarter this year though. Much is yet to be determined as far as absorbing staff from Bank of Maine which the senior management of each company is working on a fair plan for.
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