Michael K. Krebs

Nutter served as legal counsel to Eastern Bank Corporation, the mutual holding company of Eastern Bank, in its conversion to a fully public stock holding company known as Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: EBC).

Nutter served as counsel to Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P., the marketing agent for Provident Bancorp, Inc., in connection with its conversion from the mutual holding company to the stock holding company form of organization and its related stock offering.

Nutter served as sole outside legal counsel to Centreville Bank in connection with its agreement to acquire Putnam Bank and its holding company, PB Bancorp, Inc., in a transaction valued at approximately $115.5 million.

Nutter served as sole outside legal counsel to Leader Bank, N.A. and its parent company Leader Bancorp, Inc. in connection with the recent spin-out of ZSuite Technologies.

Nutter served as sole legal advisor to Fisher International, Inc., a firm supporting the pulp and paper industry with business intelligence and strategy consulting services, in its acquisition by Battery Ventures, a global technology-focused investment firm.

Nutter represented Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., the placement agents for Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ: INDB), the bank holding company of Rockland Trust Company, in connection with Independent’s private placement of $50 million of fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due 2029.

Nutter represented PeoplesBancorp, MHC, the holding company for PeoplesBank, in the private placement of $40 million in fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due 2028.

Nutter represented Shawmut Corporation, a developer of high-performance composites, in its joint venture with the automotive headliner and specialty industrial fabrics business of Glen Raven Technical Fabrics LLC, a global provider of innovative technical fabric solutions.

Nutter represented Hometown Financial Group, Inc., the bank holding company of bankESB (Easthampton, MA) and bankHometown (Oxford, MA), in connection with its acquisition of Pilgrim Bank, a Massachusetts-chartered co-operative bank headquartered in Cohasset, MA, and its bank holding company, Pilgrim Bancshares, Inc. (OTCMKTS: PLRM).

Nutter represented PeoplesBancorp, MHC, a Massachusetts mutual holding company, and the bank holding company of PeoplesBank, a Massachusetts-chartered savings bank, both of Holyoke, Massachusetts, in connection with its acquisition of First Suffield Financial, Inc., a Connecticut corporation and the bank holding company of The First National Bank of Suffield, a national bank, both of Suffield, Connecticut. The total value of the transaction was approximately $60 million.

Nutter advised MNB Bancorp, the parent company of The Milford National Bank and Trust Company, a national bank, both of Milford, Massachusetts, in its acquisition by Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: INDB). Independent is the parent company of Rockland Trust Company. The total value of the transaction was approximately $54 million.

Nutter represented a private real estate fund in the formation of a “REIT feeder structure,” consisting of a domestically controlled private real estate investment trust that is a subsidiary of a newly-formed Delaware limited partnership. The structure is intended to accommodate investments by qualified purchasers (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940).

Nutter advised First Commons Bank, N.A., in its merger with Brookline Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRKL). The total value of the transaction was approximately $55.958 million. 

Nutter represented Commerce Bancshares Corp. and its subsidiary, Commerce Bank & Trust Company, in its merger with Berkshire Hills Bancorp. Inc. (NYSE: BHLB), in an all-stock transaction valued at $209 million.

Nutter represented Meetinghouse Bancorp, Inc. (OTC Pink: MTGB), the holding company for Meetinghouse Bank, in its merger with Meridian Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBSB), the holding company for East Boston Savings Bank, in a transaction valued at approximately $17.8 million.

Nutter represented North Shore Bank in its merger with Merrimac Savings Bank.

Nutter advised Admune Therapeutics LLC in its sale to Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

Nutter represented Connecticut River Bancorp, Inc. (OTCQB: CORB) and its subsidiary, Connecticut River Bank, N.A., a national bank, both of Charlestown, NH, in its merger with Mascoma Mutual Financial Services Corporation and its subsidiary, Mascoma Savings Bank, in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.7 million.

Nutter advised Bank of New Hampshire and its parent BNH Financial, a mutual holding company, in their acquisition of Community Guaranty Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary Community Guaranty Savings Bank, a New Hampshire guaranty savings bank. The combined entity has approximately $1.4 billion in assets and 23 branch offices throughout New Hampshire.

Nutter advised Centrix Bank & Trust, based in Bedford, NH, in connection with its acquisition by Eastern Bank Corporation in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $134 million.

Nutter represented BankFive, MHC , the parent company of Fall River-based BankFive, in the private placement of $25 million in fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due 2031.

Nutter served as legal counsel to Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (Nasdaq Global Select Market: EBC), the stock holding company for Eastern Bank, in connection with its acquisition of Century Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNBKA), the stock holding company for Century Bank and Trust Company, in a transaction valued at approximately $642 million.

Nutter is serving as legal counsel to Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: EBC), the stock holding company for Eastern Bank, in connection with its definitive merger agreement with Cambridge Bancorp (NASDAQ: CATC), the parent company of Cambridge Trust Company, pursuant to which Cambridge will merge with and into Eastern in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $528 million. Simultaneously, Nutter is also representing Eastern Insurance Group, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern, in its definitive agreement to sell its insurance operations to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) for approximately $510 million in cash.

Nutter is serving as legal counsel to Fidelity Bank in connection with its agreement with Cape Cod 5 to merge their respective mutual holding companies under one multi-bank holding company, Mutual Bancorp, subject to regulatory approval.

Nutter represented a nationally recognized investment bank acting as placement agent for a $20 million offering of subordinated debt in July 2021 by a bank holding company in New England.

Nutter is serving as legal counsel to North Shore Bancorp, the holding company for North Shore Bank, in connection with its agreement to combine with Hometown Financial Group, Inc., the holding company for bankESB, bankHometown, and Abington Bank.