Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia has reached a truce with a large shareholder.
The $5.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that it has secured a cooperation agreement with Driver Management.
As part of the agreement, Republic First appointed Peter Bartholow, former chief financial officer and chief operations officer at Texas Capital Bancshares, to its board.
Driver agreed to withdraw its notice of intent to nominate director candidates for election at the 2022 annual meeting. The investor also agreed to cease all solicitations or proxies tied to the meeting.
The shareholder also agreed to voluntarily dismiss with prejudice all claims against Republic First.
Bartholow “is a welcome addition to our board, and brings an extensive knowledge of capital markets and mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the community banking space,” Harry Madonna, the company’s chairman and interim CEO, said in the release.
“The company looks forward to leveraging his experience as we continue to serve our communities and position … for value creation while we pursue our ongoing strategic review,” Madonna added.