| Independent Bank Corp. and New England Bancorp announced today that they recently received the regulatory stamp of approval to move forward with their merger announced this spring.
Under the terms of the deal, Bank of Cape Cod will merge into Rockland Trust.
Bank of Cape Cod was founded in 2006 and has four Barnstable County bank branches, which the Rockland Trust parent intends to close as part of the deal, along with about $214 million in deposits, and approximately $229 million in loans. The bank employs approximately 35 people, and when the deal was first announced, Rockland Trust executives said they were aiming to employ those people elsewhere in the company.
Independent said earlier this year that it anticipates issuing approximately 660,000 shares of its common stock in the merger and that it will cash out any outstanding New England Bancorp warrants or options when the merger closes. New England Bancorp shareholders will receive instructions for the exchange of certificates of New England Bancorp common stock for Independent common stock.
The merger is expected to close on or about Nov. 10.
