Jones Lang LaSalle

Hudson United, TD Banknorth Shareholders Vote to Merge

TD Banknorth (NYSE: BNK) shareholders at a special meeting yesterday voted nearly unanimously to approve the approximately $1.9 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of Mahwah-based Hudson United Bancorp (NYSE: HU). In a separate meeting, Hudson United shareholders also voted overwhelmingly in the affirmative, with more than 98% casting votes in favor of the transaction that is expected to close later this quarter upon Federal Reserve approval.

William J. Ryan, TD Banknorth's chairman, president and CEO, said the acquisition would help the bank expand in the mid-Atlantic region, including the fast-growing New Jersey and metro-Philadelphia markets. His counterpart at Hudson United, Kenneth Neilson, said it would allow his bank to remain focused on community banking. The merger will result in a regional bank with some 590 branches, 751 ATMs and more than $26 billion in deposits across eight states in the northeast.

Neilson, who will be retiring at roughly the same time the deal closes, is slated to serve as a consultant for the next two years. Wendy P. Suehrstedt, a chief retail-banking officer with Portland, Maine-based TD Banknorth, has been tapped to oversee the bulk of his duties. Suehrstedt will be responsible for more than 75% of Hudson United’s current 204 branches as president and CEO of the combined entity’s mid-Atlantic division.
The Hudson United brand will be converted to the TD Banknorth moniker later this spring, according to Jeffrey Nathanson, a Banknorth spokesperson. Shares of both banks were unchanged this morning, with TD Banknorth trading at $29.41 and Hudson United at $42.17. - Ki Kim