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Suffolk Bancorp sets shareholder vote on merger with People’s United Financial

File photo: Peter Blasl

Suffolk Bancorp has scheduled a special shareholders’ meeting on Oct. 13 for a vote on its proposed merger with the Connecticut-based People’s United Financial.

“Suffolk’s shareholders will be asked to vote to adopt the merger agreement and approve related matters, as described in the attached proxy statement/prospectus. The merger cannot be completed unless, among other things, the holders of at least 70 percent of the outstanding shares of Suffolk common stock adopt the merger agreement,” according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday and mailed to shareholders of record as of Aug. 25.

In a deal announced June 27, Suffolk Bancorp Inc., the one-bank holding company of Suffolk County National Bank, has proposed merging the bank into People’s United Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of People’s United Financial Inc. The merger agreement is an all-stock transaction that will provide Suffolk shareholders with 2.25 shares of People’s United stock for each share of Suffolk stock owned.

The proposed merger has given rise to three lawsuits filed on behalf of Suffolk’s shareholders seeking to block the merger, each claiming that the company’s board of directors, in agreeing to the merger, breached its fiduciary duties to shareholders. Two of the actions are pending in State Supreme Court in Suffolk County and one is pending in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The special shareholders’ meeting will be held at Suffolk County National Bank’s headquarters at 4 West Second Street in Riverhead. Proxy cards were sent to shareholders along with the proxy statement/merger. Failure to vote counts as a vote against the deal, according to the statement.

For details of the special meeting, vote and merger agreement, see Suffolk Bancorp’s document filed with the SEC (Schedule 14A) yesterday,  posted below. SCNB proxy statement prospectus merger

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Denise Civiletti
Denise is a veteran local reporter and editor, an attorney and former Riverhead Town councilwoman. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a “writer of the year” award from the N.Y. Press Association in 2015. She is a founder, owner and co-publisher of this website.