WARREN, Penn., and OWINGS MILLS, Md., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Northwest Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: NWSB), the holding company for Northwest
Savings Bank, and Maryland Permanent Bank, announced jointly today that they
have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Northwest Bancorp would
acquire Maryland Permanent Bank and merge it into Northwest Savings Bank. The
agreement provides that the shareholders of Maryland Permanent will receive
$4.75 in cash for each of their shares. Holders of options will receive the
difference in cash between $4.75 and the exercise price. The total value of
the transaction is $14.8 million. The transaction is expected to be completed
in the second calendar quarter of 2006 and is subject to the approval of the
shareholders of Maryland Permanent Bank and state and federal regulatory
authorities.
Michael Meisel, Chairman of Maryland Permanent Bank, stated, "We are
extremely excited with the prospect of becoming part of the Northwest Bancorp
team. Northwest has developed a superb reputation in the industry as a
community banking organization that delivers quality products and services to
its customers. We hope to leverage these strengths and the added resources
that Northwest will bring to our market to better serve and greatly expand our
customer base in Maryland."
William J. Wagner, President and CEO of Northwest Bancorp Inc., stated,
"We are pleased to announce the merger with Maryland Permanent Bank and the
expansion of our network in Baltimore. We look forward to bringing Maryland
Permanent's commercial lending expertise to the areas of Maryland that
Northwest now serves. In addition, we believe that Northwest's community
banking expertise, especially in the areas of retail lending and retail
deposit products, will greatly benefit customers in Maryland Permanent's
markets. Our combined Maryland network, with offices in Arbutus, Elkridge,
Glen Burnie and Owings Mills and assets of $436 million, gives us a
significant presence in this market."
Founded in 1896 and headquartered in Warren, Pennsylvania, Northwest
Bancorp Inc. has assets of $6.4 billion and currently operates 153 community
banking facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Ohio and Florida. It
is a full-service financial institution which features retail and commercial
banking products as well as trust and investment management services.
Founded in 1910, Maryland Permanent Bank had assets of $90 million and
shareholders' equity of $9 million as of September 30, 2005.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements about the
proposed merger of Northwest and Maryland Permanent. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by the fact that they may include words like
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and "intend" or future or
conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." These
forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations
of Northwest's and Maryland Permanent's management and are inherently subject
to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and
contingencies, many of which are beyond the companies' control. Certain
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected
include delays in completing the merger, difficulties in achieving cost
savings from the merger or in achieving such cost savings within the expected
time frame, difficulties in integrating Northwest and Maryland Permanent,
increased competitive pressures, changes in the interest rate environment,
changes in general economic conditions, legislative and regulatory changes
that adversely affect the businesses in which Northwest and Maryland Permanent
are engaged, changes in the securities markets, and other factors. Actual
results may differ materially from the anticipated results discussed in these
forward-looking statements. Northwest and Maryland Permanent do not
undertake, and specifically disclaim, any obligation to publicly release the
results of any revisions that may be made to any forward looking statements to
reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances
after the date of such statements.
SOURCE Northwest Bancorp, Inc.
-0- 11/14/2005
/CONTACT: William J. Wagner, President and CEO of Northwest Bancorp,
Inc., +1-814-726-2140; or Michael Meisel, Chairman of Maryland Permanent Bank,
+1-410-356-4411/
/Web site: http://www.northwestsavingsbank.com /
(NWSB)
CO: Northwest Bancorp, Inc.; Northwest Savings Bank; Maryland Permanent Bank
ST: Pennsylvania, Maryland
IN: FIN
SU: TNM
CT-AK
-- CLM074 --
4018 11/14/200513:12 ESThttp://www.prnewswire.com