NBT Bancorp Inc. (NBT) (NASDAQ: NBTB) and Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. (Salisbury) (NASDAQ: SAL) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Salisbury will merge with and into NBT. The merger consideration is 100% stock and is valued at approximately $204 million and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023 subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the shareholders of Salisbury and required regulatory approvals. The combination, approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both companies, will provide market extension for both institutions and join two high-quality franchises with long histories of service to their customers and communities.

Salisbury is a premier community bank franchise headquartered in Lakeville, CT and had assets of $1.51 billion, deposits of $1.33 billion, and net loans of $1.18 billion as of September 30, 2022. Its primary subsidiary, Salisbury Bank and Trust Company, is a Connecticut-chartered commercial bank with 14 banking offices in northwestern Connecticut, the Hudson Valley region of New York and southwestern Massachusetts.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, each outstanding share of Salisbury common stock will be converted into the right to receive 0.7450 shares of NBT common stock upon completion of the merger, which equates to a value of $35.00 per Salisbury share and based on NBT’s volume-weighted average closing stock price of $46.98 for the 10-day trading period ending on November 29, 2022. The transaction is intended to qualify as a reorganization for federal income tax purposes, and as a result, the receipt of NBT common stock by shareholders of Salisbury is expected to be tax-free.

NBT expects the transaction to be approximately 9.8% accretive to first full-year proforma GAAP earnings per share after close and 4.9% per share accretive to cash earnings excluding the impact of purchase accounting adjustments, including fair value marks to securities and loans and the establishment of a core deposit intangible asset.

“We are very excited to partner with Salisbury and to extend our footprint into their attractive and complementary markets,” said NBT President and CEO John H. Watt, Jr. “Importantly, the organizational values upheld by the Salisbury team align very well with those of NBT. We look forward to welcoming these dedicated financial professionals to NBT and growing our combined company together. We are also pleased that Rick Cantele, Salisbury’s President and CEO, will become a member of NBT’s Executive Management Team. Salisbury has an impressive history of service to their customers, communities and shareholders, and we are honored to have the opportunity to build on these relationships.”

“We are proud to become part of a long-standing, high-performing franchise like NBT Bank,” said Salisbury President and CEO Richard J. Cantele, Jr. “We believe this combination will create significant value for Salisbury shareholders, both immediately and longer term. Furthermore, we are confident the operating philosophies shared by NBT and Salisbury will ensure that our customers continue to receive high-quality service from people they know and trust. NBT has been consistently recognized for superior customer satisfaction and offers comprehensive omni-channel solutions. Through the partnership between Salisbury and NBT, our customers will gain access to an expanded set of products, services and capabilities.”

 In recognition of both organizations’ strong community focus, NBT has committed to maintaining charitable support in the markets served by Salisbury at consistent levels following the merger. NBT has also pledged to contribute an additional $500,000 in incremental support to demonstrate the company’s ongoing commitment to these markets.