Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

Bar Harbor in Maine agrees to buy Guaranty in New Hampshire

Bar Harbor Bankshares in Bar Harbor, Maine, has agreed to buy Guaranty Bancorp in Woodsville, N.H.

The $4.1 billion-asset Bar Harbor said in a press release that it will pay $41.6 million in stock for the $675 million-asset Guaranty. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, priced Guaranty at 130% of its tangible book value.

Guaranty, the parent of

Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank, has nine branches, $456 million in loans and $530 million in deposits.

The acquisition should be 30% accretive to Bar Harbor’s earnings per share, excluding merger-related expenses. It should take a little more than two years for Bar Harbor to earn back an estimated 10% dilution to its tangible book value.

Bar Harbor expects to incur $11.1 million of merger-related expenses. It plans to cut about 40% of Guaranty’s annual noninterest expense.

“Woodsville operates in markets similar to ours and adjacent to our northwestern New Hampshire and Vermont locations, making this a natural fit,” Curtis Simard, Bar Harbor’s president and CEO, said in the release. “Woodsville’s deep customer relationships, strong asset quality, and cultural alignment with our organization make for a winning partnership.”

James Graham, Guaranty’s president and CEO, will join Bar Harbor’s board.

Piper Sandler and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton advised Bar Harbor. Griffin Financial Group and Goodwin Procter advised Guaranty.

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