UPDATE 1-United Financial seals deal to buy CNB for $25 mln
* United Financial to buy CNB for $10.75/shr
* CNB to terminate its merger pact with Berkshire Hills
* CNB to pay $970,000 to Berkshire
* United sees deal to add 9 pct to 2010 oper earnings June 25 (Reuters) - United Financial Bancorp Inc (UBNK.O) said it agreed to buy CNB Financial Corp CFNA.OB for $25 million, topping an offer from Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc (BHLB.O) for about $19.5 million.
United Financial, which raised its offer to $10.75 per share from $10 a share, said CNB's shareholders could opt for either stock or cash or a combination of two, provided the total cash paid does not exceed 50 percent of the deal value.
CNB Financial will terminate its merger agreement with Berkshire Hills and pay a termination fee of $970,000, the company said in a statement.
On April 29, Berkshire agreed to buy CNB Financial for $8.50 per share in an all-stock deal to extend its banking operation in the central northeast region.
Worcester, Massachusetts-based CNB Financial has nearly $300 million in assets and operates six banking offices in the greater Worcester area, while United Financial had assets of $1.24 billion as of March 31.
United Financial expects to record a pre-tax restructuring charge of about $4 million and said the deal will add 9 percent to 2010 operating earnings per share.
Shares of United Financial closed up 3 percent at $13.59, while those of Berkshire Hills closed up 4 percent to $21.02 Thursday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
