1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP, INC.
ANNOUNCES SALE OF EASTPOINT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
PITTSFIELD, MA - June 18, 2004 - Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company"),
(AMEX: BHL), the holding company for Berkshire Bank (the "Bank"), announced the
sale today of EastPoint Technologies, LLC ("EastPoint"), a software and data
processing provider for financial institutions, to EP Acquisition Corp., an
acquisition subsidiary of Open Solutions Inc., (NASDAQ:OPEN), of Glastonbury,
Connecticut. The sale being announced today is for $7.0 million in cash, which
includes $900,000 paid into escrow and $350,000 which may be earned by EastPoint
over the next two years. The Company owns 60.3 percent of EastPoint and will
immediately realize approximately $2.8 million with a potential to receive up to
an additional $750,000 in two years, which represents the Company's 60.3 percent
share of the combined $1.25 million of escrowed and conditional payments. The
sale will have no material impact on the Company's financial condition for the
current quarter, as EastPoint is recorded on the Company's financial statements
at approximately $2.8 million.
Michael P. Daly, President and CEO of the Company and the Bank said of the
transaction "We were pleased that the Company made this investment three years
ago to acquire and stabilize what we knew to be a good company with a great
product. However, owning and operating a business like EastPoint is not part of
our long-term business plan and we are delighted to turn it over to Open
Solutions, an industry leader which has the know-how, capital and product lines
to improve on what has been accomplished by the EastPoint team. We are confident
that the employees and customers of EastPoint will benefit from this sale and we
are looking forward to our own long-term relationship as a customer of Open
Solutions. We also believe that this sale will enable us to improve shareholder
value in our Company as EastPoint's impact on our EPS has now ended. "
Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Berkshire Bank.
Established in 1846, Berkshire Bank is one of Massachusetts' oldest and largest
independent banks and is the largest banking institution based in western
Massachusetts. The Bank is headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts with 11
branch offices serving communities throughout Berkshire County. The Bank is
committed to continuing operation as an independent bank, delivering exceptional
customer service and a broad array of competitively priced retail and commercial
products to its customers.
Statements contained in this news release contain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements are based on the beliefs and expectations of management, as
well as the assumptions made using information currently available to
management. Since these statements reflect the views of management concerning
future events, these statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.
These risks and uncertainties include among others: changes in market interest
rates and general and regional economic conditions; changes in government
regulations; changes in accounting
2
principles; and the quality or composition of the loan and investment portfolios
and other factors that may be described in the Company's quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, June 30 and September 30 and in its
annual report on Form 10-K, each filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, which are available at the Securities and Exchange Commission's
internet web site (www.sec.gov) and to which reference is hereby made.
-----------
Therefore, actual future results may differ significantly from results discussed
in these forward-looking statements.
News Contact: Michael P. Daly
President and Chief Executive Officer
413-236-3194