Boston, MA 05/01/2014 (wallstreetpr) – United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK) started trading Thursday following the completion of the merger of equals that resulted in the creation of a company worth $5 billion in asset base. The $369 million merger deal between Rockville Banks and United Bank of West Springfield left Rockville as the holding company as the merged closed and became effective Wednesday.
The headquarters of the surviving entity is in Glastonbury.
Management changes
William H.W. Crawford who served as CEO of Rockville became the CEO of the surviving company while United Bank CEO and Chairman Richard B. Collins retired. However, the chief operating officer at United Bank J. Jeffrey Sullivan joins the board of the new entity as president.
The company announced that the other members of the board of the included Crawford (CEO), Robert A. Steward Jr. who became chairman, Raymond H. Lefurge is the vice chairman while Kevin E. Boss, Kristen A. Johnson, Michael A. Bars, Carol A. Leary and Michael F. Crowley are some of the members.
Common stock dividend
The company will pay a cash dividend on the common stock on May 19 to shareholders of record as of May 12.
Participates issue fairness opinion
The merger involved many other third-parties that played various roles such as financial advisers and legal counsel. As the merger closed, the third-parties including RBC Capital Markets, Sterne Agree & Leach, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton and Sandler O’Neill & Partners issued a fairness opinion on the merger.
Hitting the ground running
United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK) has all the goodwill of the board and shareholders to hit the ground running in attaining growth and stability. The expanded asset base of the parent company and the increased service locations should come as benefits to the bank.
Furthermore, the merger means an important step towards consolidation and compliance with the new and stringent regulatory frame that is expected to come into force soon. The increased scrutiny in the financial and banking space means that players have to style up. However, the tough regulatory measures mean that those who easily adapt to them will have all the reasons to smile all the away to the bank, and that is why United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK) is trying to achieve.
Shares of United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK) gained almost 2 percent as the new ticker launched on NASDAQ Thursday.
