Lewis J. Critelli, President and Chief Executive Officer of Norwood will remain as President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. All members of the Executive Management team of Norwood and Wayne Bank will continue in their current positions.
UpState directors Jeffrey S. Gifford and Alexandra K. Nolan will be appointed to the boards of directors of Norwood and Wayne Bank. In addition, the other directors of UpState will be invited to join a regional advisory board. UpState President and CEO R. Michael Briggs will enter into a consulting agreement with Wayne Bank. Norwood will retain the brand names of USNY’s two units, Bank of the Finger Lakes and Bank of Cooperstown, and will also retain USNY’s administration center in Geneva, New York. Scott D. White, unit President of Bank of Cooperstown, and Jeffrey E. Franklin, unit President of Bank of the Finger Lakes, will also remain in place as executives of their units.
It is expected that the merger may be consummated early in the third quarter of 2020 and is subject to certain closing conditions, including receiving requisite regulatory approvals and the approval of Norwood’s and UpState’s shareholders. The transaction is expected to be approximately 18.0% accretive to Norwood’s earnings in 2021, the first full year of operations.
Norwood has prepared an investor presentation on the transaction that can be accessed on Norwood’s website at
www.waynebank.com/stockholder-services.
The Kafafian Group, Inc. acted as financial advisor to Norwood and provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of Norwood in connection with the transaction. Boenning & Scattergood, Inc. acted as financial advisor to UpState and provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of UpState in connection with the transaction. Jones Walker, LLP, Washington, D.C., served as legal counsel for Norwood and Stevens & Lee, P.C. served as legal counsel for UpState.
About Norwood Financial Corp.
Headquartered in Honesdale, PA, Norwood Financial Corp, through its subsidiary, Wayne Bank operates fifteen offices in Northeastern Pennsylvania and twelve offices in Delaware and Sullivan Counties, New York. As of September 30, 2019, Norwood had total assets of $1.2 billion, loans outstanding of $905.6 million, total deposits of $974.4 million and total stockholders’ equity of $134.9 million. Norwood’s stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “NWFL”.
About UpState New York Bancorp, Inc.
UpState New York Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for USNY Bank, a New York chartered bank that conducts its business from its two Bank of the Finger Lakes offices in Geneva and Penn Yan, New York, and two Bank of Cooperstown offices in Cooperstown and Oneonta, New York. As of September 30, 2019, UpState had total assets of $435.9 million, total net loans of $379.2 million, total deposits of $387.1 million and total stockholders’ equity of $45.3 million.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results