On July 25, 2018, Pilgrim Bancshares, Inc. (“Pilgrim”), Cohasset, Massachusetts, and Hometown Financial Group, Inc. (“Hometown”), Easthampton, Massachusetts, entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Pilgrim will merge with and into Hometown, with Hometown as the resulting company, for total merger consideration valued at approximately $53.9 million. Pilgrim shareholders will receive $23.00 cash per share of common stock. After consummation of the Merger, Hometown intends to continue to operate Pilgrim Bank, Pilgrim’s wholly owned banking subsidiary, as a separate banking entity.

Luse Gorman served as legal counsel to Pilgrim in the transaction. The Luse Gorman team included Lawrence M.F. Spaccasi, Kent M. Krudys, Scott A. Brown and Steven T. Lanter (Corporate/M&A) and Jeffrey M. Cardone (Executive Compensation).

At March 31, 2018 Pilgrim has approximately $262.4 million in total assets and operates 3 offices in eastern Massachusetts.

Hometown Financial Group, a $2.1 billion mutual holding company headquartered in Easthampton, Massachusetts, is the parent company of bankESB and bankHometown, which combined operate 23 branches throughout western and central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut.