New Century Bancorp to Acquire Progressive State Bank
03 Fevereiro 2006 - 11:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
DUNN, N.C., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Boards of
Directors of New Century Bancorp, Inc., Dunn, North Carolina
(OTC:NCBC) (BULLETIN BOARD: NCBC) , and Progressive State Bank,
Lumberton, North Carolina announced today that they had entered
into a definitive agreement whereby Progressive State Bank will be
acquired by New Century Bancorp through the merger of Progressive
State Bank with and into New Century Bank South (formerly New
Century Bank of Fayetteville), a wholly-owned subsidiary of New
Century Bancorp. The transaction is subject to approval of the
shareholders of Progressive State Bank and federal and state
banking regulatory authorities. Subject to such approval, the
shareholders of Progressive State Bank will receive $21.30 per
share in cash. It is anticipated that the merger will take place
during third quarter 2006. John Q. Shaw, president of New Century
Bancorp, Inc. and William L. Hedgepeth, president of New Century
Bank South commented: "We are delighted to be affiliating with such
a well established institution as Progressive State Bank. We
believe the combination of our banks can enhance the products and
services presently being provided to customers of Robeson, Hoke,
and Bladen counties where Progressive currently has four
full-service offices. Combining Progressive State Bank and New
Century Bank South, which has its headquarters in Fayetteville, is
a natural extension of our market. Teaming up with the staff
members at Progressive State Bank, many of whom we believe will
decide to stay on with the merged bank, will allow us to be an
aggressive competitor in these markets and to provide 'neighbor
helping neighbor' service to a new group of customers and
prospective customers." Roland T. Orr, president of Progressive
State Bank noted: "New Century Bancorp, with its two wholly-owned
banks headquartered in Dunn and Fayetteville, is one of the
strongest community banks in North Carolina. They have had
tremendous success serving markets such as ours since opening in
2000. Teaming up with them will give us greater capital resources
and lending capability, which will benefit customers in our
markets. Their philosophy of offering 'neighbor helping neighbor'
service fits into our style of banking, and we are excited about
the advantages they will bring to our customers as well as our
employees." New Century Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for New
Century Bank in Dunn and New Century Bank South in Fayetteville has
offices in Dunn, Clinton, Goldsboro, and Fayetteville. As of
December 31, 2005 New Century Bancorp, Inc. had total assets of
$436.4 million, total deposits of $367.0 million, and total
shareholders' equity of $33.0 million. Progressive State Bank has
offices in Lumberton, Raeford, Pembroke, and Dublin and as of
December 31, 2005 had total assets of $59.3 million, total deposits
of $50.8 million and total shareholders' equity of $7.25 million.
http://www.newcenturybanknc.com/ The information as of and for the
quarter year ended December 31, 2005 for both New Century Bancorp
and Progressive State Bank as presented is unaudited. This news
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including,
without limitation, (i) statements regarding certain of our goals
and expectations with respect to earnings, earnings per share,
revenue, expenses and the growth rate in such items, as well as
other measures of economic performance, including statements
relating to estimates of credit quality trends, and (ii) statements
preceded by, followed by or that include the words "may", "could",
"should", "would", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect",
"intend", "plan", "projects", "outlook" or similar expressions. The
actual results might differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not
limited to, our ability to manage growth, our limited operating
history, substantial changes in financial markets, regulatory
changes, changes in interest rates, loss of deposits and loan
demand to other savings and financial institutions, and changes in
real estate values and the real estate market. Additional
information concerning factors that could cause actual results to
materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is
contained in the Company's SEC filings, including its periodic
reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
copies of which are available upon request from the Company. First
Call Analyst: FCMN Contact: DATASOURCE: New Century Bancorp, Inc.
CONTACT: John Q. Shaw, President of New Century Bancorp, Inc.,
+1-910-892-7080, or ; or Roland T. Orr, President of Progressive
State Bank, +1-910-738-1478, or ; or William L. Hedgepeth,
President of New Century Bank South, +1-910-485-5855, or Web site:
http://www.newcenturybanknc.com/
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