Needham Bank plans to acquire BankProv for $212 million by NH Business Review for Mike Cote

The holding company for Needham Bank plans to buy BankProv for $211.8 million in cash and stock, giving the Massachusetts-based bank a footprint in the Granite State.
Ambury-Mass.-based BankProv, operates New Hampshire branches in Bedford, Exeter, Hampton, Portsmouth and Seabrook. The combined bank will operate 18 branches across Metrowest, Greater Boston, the North Shore and southern New Hampshire, with approximately $7.1 billion in assets, $5.9 billion in deposits, and $6.1 billion in loans, NB Bancorp Inc. said in a release Thursday.
It will be the sixth largest Massachusetts-based bank in the Boston MSA by deposit share, the company said.
“This merger allows Needham Bank to expand into attractive market areas on the Massachusetts North Shore and in Southern New Hampshire where we already have a concentration of business clients,” said Joseph P. Campanelli, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Needham Bank, in a statement.
As part of the merger, Joseph B. Reilly, president and chief executive officer of Provident and a long-time banker in New Hampshire, will join the board of directors of Needham and Needham Bank.
“Both organizations have a long history of serving our communities with a focus on ‘relationships, agility and entrepreneurship’ in banking,” said Reilly, who founded and led Bedford, NH-based Centrix Bank for more than 16 years before it was acquired by Eastern Bank in 2014. “Combined, we will offer an expanded product line of commercial and consumer products that will provide real value to our market areas.”
Both banks have roots in the 19th century: The Provident Bank (Nasdaq: PVBC) was founded in 1828 as the Provident Institution for Savings in Amesbury and Salisbury, Mass. It operates seven branch locations on the North Shore of Massachusetts and in southern New Hampshire, and a loan office located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. At March 31, BankProv had $1.6 billion in total assets, $1.2 billion in total deposits and $1.3 billion in gross loans, according to the release.
Needham Bank (Nasdaq: NBBK), founded in Needham, Mass., in 1892, anticipates issuing approximately 5.9 million shares of its common stock in conjunction with the merger. The value of the transaction is estimated to be $211.8 million based on Needham’s share price of $16.62 at the close of business on June 4, 2025.
The merger is expected to close in Q4 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and approval by Provident shareholders. Needham shareholder approval is not required. All Provident directors and executives have committed to vote in favor of the merger, Needham said.