Hometown Financial Group to acquire Primary Bank

Since opening as a de novo bank in June 2015, Bedford-based Primary Bank has always led with the mission to serve the financial needs of the local business community. While that’s not expected to change, what will be changing soon is the Primary Bank name, its number of branch locations, and the expansion of new services for banking customers.

Crystal Dionne, now president and CEO since February 2024, joined Primary Bank’s senior management team during its startup phase, when the bank was still a holding company. (NHBR file/Brittany Grimes)

All of these changes will be taking place under a merger agreement that Primary Bank has reached with Easthampton, Mass.-based Hometown Financial Group, Inc., the $6.9 billion holding company of bankESB, bankHometown and TruNorth Bank, in a transaction valued at $160 million in cash and stock, according to a joint press release issued by the banks.

The merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors, will give Hometown a wider footprint in southern New Hampshire, joining with Primary Bank’s approximately $743 million in total assets.

The transaction marks Hometown Financial Group’s ninth successful merger in the last 10 years, according to the company’s July 6 investor presentation. “We rely on our track record to speak for itself,” Hometown Financial CEO and Chairman Matthew Sosik said in an interview with NH Business Review.

New name, more locations, more services

The proposed transaction builds upon Hometown’s earlier announced plans to merge its three subsidiary banks – bankESB, bankHometown and TruNorth Bank – into a single charter and reopen under the TruNorth Bank name, beginning Aug. 24, subject to regulatory approvals.

Once the acquisition with Primary Bank closes, Primary Bank’s current branches in Bedford, Derry, Manchester, and Nashua will operate under the TruNorth Bank name. Including Primary Bank’s four current locations, TruNorth Bank will grow to 59 branches throughout Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and one in northeast Connecticut.

Additionally, Hometown Financial Group has an affiliate company, called Hometown Mortgage, which will be renamed TruNorth Mortgage once the three subsidiary banks merge. This means Primary Bank and TruNorth bank customers will now have access to a wider variety of services, including residential mortgage products and services.

A perfect match

Primary Bank Founder and Chairman William Greiner told NH Business Review in an interview that growth was a necessity to ensure long-term success. “We’re in a situation where, for us to grow and continue to do what we are doing, we need to scale,” he said.

Sosik expressed the same sentiment. “Being relevant and being viable for the long-term, it all relies on scale and growth,” he said.

Greiner said that, once the decision had been made to sell Primary Bank, choosing the right merger partner took a lot of time and careful consideration. It involved meeting with the chief executive officers and leadership teams of more than a dozen banks until they found one whose mission, culture, and management felt like the perfect fit, he said.

It needed to be a perfect fit for Primary Bank’s shareholders, customers, and employees as well. “When we make any decision, including selling the bank, we have to make sure it is in the best interest of all three of those constituencies,” Greiner added.

“We saw lots of synergies immediately,” Sosik said, describing the first meeting with Primary Bank’s leadership team in April. “We love the people who are running the company. We love the employees, the culture, and the business model. So, it was a very organic fit.”

“We love what Primary has done. We just want to take it and expand upon it,” Sosik added.

“The talent, leadership and deep market expertise being brought together will allow for our core mission to continue serving New Hampshire,” Primary Bank President and CEO Crystal Dionne said in the press release. “We could not have asked for a better partner that shares the same community values and commitment to excellence.”

Terms of the deal 

Besides the merger with Primary Bank, Hometown Financial Group’s board of trustees unanimously adopted a plan of conversion to reorganize from a mutual holding company to a stock holding company.

As part of this conversion plan, TruNorth Bank will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hometown Financial Group, Inc., a newly formed Maryland-based corporation. “It’s that new company that will carry us forward,” Sosik said.

Eligible account holders of TruNorth Bank as of the close of business on June 30, 2025, will have first priority non-transferable subscription rights to subscribe for shares of common stock. Primary Bank shareholders will receive, for each share of common stock, either $33 in cash or $31 in shares of stock issued by Hometown Financial Group, Inc.

The mutual-to-stock conversion, and the merger with Primary, are expected to be completed concurrently in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and approval by Primary’s shareholders.

Once the merger closes, TruNorth Bank’s current President and CEO Michael Wheeler will remain president. On the Primary Bank side, Greiner will join the combined bank’s board of directors, alongside Dick Anagnost, a current Primary Bank board member.