AmeriServ Financial Announces Cooperation and Settlement Agreement with Driver Management
June 14 2024 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Driver Will Withdraw Director Nominations and
Dismiss All Litigation Against AmeriServ
AmeriServ Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASRV) (“AmeriServ” or the
“Company”) today announced that it has reached a cooperation and
settlement agreement (the “Cooperation Agreement”) with Driver
Opportunity Partners I LP (collectively with its affiliates,
“Driver”).
Pursuant to the Cooperation Agreement, Driver has agreed to
withdraw its notice of nomination of director candidates for
election to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), along
with other shareholder proposals, at the 2024 Annual Meeting of
Shareholders and to voluntarily dismiss all outstanding litigation
against AmeriServ. Further, Driver has agreed to a perpetual
standstill which provides that from and at all times after the
effective date of the Cooperation Agreement, Driver will not
attempt to nominate director candidates at AmeriServ or bring
litigation against the Company, among other provisions.
AmeriServ and Driver have also executed a stock purchase
agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) under which the Company
will acquire the approximately 628,000 AmeriServ shares held by
Driver for a price equal to the five-day trailing average stock
price prior to the effective date of the Stock Purchase Agreement.
Since these Driver shares will be acquired at a price below
tangible book value, this stock repurchase will be accretive to
AmeriServ shareholders.
AmeriServ expects that approximately 68% of the remaining costs
of $1.76 million associated with the Cooperation Agreement will be
covered by directors and officers liability insurance policies held
by the Company. Additional financial details will be provided on
AmeriServ’s next Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by the Company
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
J. Michael Adams, Jr., AmeriServ’s Chairman of the Board, said:
“We are pleased to have achieved closure in these matters and look
forward to continuing to focus on executing our strategic business
plan for the benefit of our shareholders, customers, employees and
the communities we serve. Our strong, well-rounded Board includes
individuals with a diverse array of professional experience that
are highly relevant to AmeriServ’s business and strategy, and we
remain committed to enhancing value for our shareholders and all
our stakeholders.”
The complete Cooperation Agreement and Stock Purchase Agreement
between the Company and Driver will be filed as exhibits to the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the SEC.
About AmeriServ Financial, Inc
AmeriServ is the parent of AmeriServ Financial Bank and
AmeriServ Trust and Financial Services Company. The Company’s
subsidiaries provide full-service banking, commercial and consumer
lending, and wealth management services in southwestern
Pennsylvania and the Hagerstown region of Maryland. As of March 31,
2024, the Company had total assets of $1.4 billion. AmeriServ is
publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol ASRV.
For more information, visit www.ameriserv.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as
defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to
the safe harbors created therein. Such statements are not
historical facts and include expressions about management’s
confidence and strategies and management’s current views and
expectations about new and existing programs and products,
relationships, opportunities, technology, market conditions,
dividend program, and future payment obligations. These statements
may be identified by such forward-looking terminology as
“continuing,” “expect,” “look,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may,”
“will,” “should,” “projects,” “strategy,” or similar statements.
Actual results may differ materially from such forward- looking
statements, and no reliance should be placed on any forward-looking
statement. Factors that may cause results to differ materially from
such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
unanticipated changes in the financial markets, the level of
inflation, and the direction of interest rates; volatility in
earnings due to certain financial assets and liabilities held at
fair value; competition levels; loan and investment prepayments
differing from our assumptions; insufficient allowance for credit
losses; a higher level of loan charge-offs and delinquencies than
anticipated; material adverse changes in our operations or
earnings; a decline in the economy in our market areas; changes in
relationships with major customers; changes in effective income tax
rates; higher or lower cash flow levels than anticipated; inability
to hire or retain qualified employees; a decline in the levels of
deposits or loss of alternate funding sources; a decrease in loan
origination volume or an inability to close loans currently in the
pipeline; changes in laws and regulations; adoption, interpretation
and implementation of accounting pronouncements; ability to
successfully execute the Earnings Improvement Program and achieve
the anticipated benefits in the amounts and at times estimated;
operational risks, including the risk of fraud by employees,
customers or outsiders; unanticipated effects to our banking
platform; expense and reputational impact on the Company as a
result of litigation and other expenses related to the continuing
activities of an activist shareholder; and the inability to
successfully implement or expand new lines of business or new
products and services. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause AmeriServ’s results to
differ materially from management’s current expectations. Such
risks and uncertainties are detailed in AmeriServ’s filings with
the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2023, filed on March 27, 2024. Forward-looking
statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of AmeriServ’s
management and on currently available information. The statements
in this press release are made as of the date of this press
release, even if subsequently made available by AmeriServ on its
website or otherwise. AmeriServ undertakes no responsibility to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240614306955/en/
Longacre Square Partners Joe Germani / Aaron Rabinovich,
646-277-8813 jgermani@longacresquare.com /
arabinovich@longacresquare.com
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