Eastern Bankshares Inc., the stock-holding company for Eastern Bank, completed the acquisition of Cambridge Bancorp, the parent company of Cambridge Trust Company, during the weekend. The deal was originally announced in September 2023.
Eastern Bank announced the acquisition Monday in a press release, stating that each share of Cambridge common stock was exchanged for 4.956 shares of Eastern common stock. Eastern issued approximately 39.2 million shares of its common stock as part of the acquisition. The transaction values Cambridge Trust at just under $600 million. On a combined basis Eastern is now worth $2.7 billion.
Bob Rivers, executive chair and chair of the Board of Directors of Eastern Bank and Eastern Bankshares Inc., said that the acquisition “doesn’t really” affect Eastern Bank’s existing branches, but provides more convenience for customers of both companies.
“When we do something like this, our customers are happy because, in this case, we’re significantly increasing our presence,” Rivers said. “So, they’ll have more places to access if they choose.”
Rivers said that all the Cambridge Trust branches have been re-branded as Eastern Bank, and the Cambridge Trust brand will only be kept for wealth management and private banking. The combination has combined assets of more than $25 billion making it the largest retail bank based in Massachusetts.
The transfer of Eastern wealth-management systems to Cambridge Trust will occur this fall, making the company the largest bank owned asset manager in Massachusetts.
“If you show up to a Cambridge Trust branch, what you would see is Eastern signage, you would see some reference on the door to Cambridge Trust wealth management and private banking,” Rivers said.
Along with the acquisition, Eastern Bank announced the appointment of David Rosato as its new chief financial officer.
Rosato is a banking executive who has served as senior executive vice president and CFO of Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Berkshire Bank.
“(Rosato) knows the market, he’s highly respected. We’ve had a lot of great affirmations from the investment community who know him that this was a great pick for us,” Rivers said.
Rosato will succeed Eastern Bank’s previous CFO, James Fitzgerald, who will continue working in a senior advisory role until all transitions are complete. Fitzgerald plans to retire afterward.
In terms of the biggest impact the acquisition will have on Lynn, Rivers said it will help Eastern Bank with its affordable-housing efforts.
“It certainly expands some of the services that we’ve always had, whether it be wealth management or private banking. The other thing it’s going to help us to do is really in housing,” Rivers said. “We’ve always been a leader in terms of providing financing to households that struggle with affordability… Combined (with Cambridge Trust), we’re making a much bigger commitment to financing affordable housing and workforce housing in all of our markets, and certainly in Lynn, which is one of our home cities and most important places.”
