EXHIBIT 2.1
AMENDMENT NUMBER 1 TO THE
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
This AMENDMENT NUMBER 1 to the AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER, dated as of
December 21, 1999 (this "Amendment"), is entered into by and between ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation ("Webster") and MECH Financial,
Inc., a Connecticut corporation ("MECH"). Unless otherwise defined herein,
capitalized terms in this Amendment are as defined in the Agreement.
WHEREAS, Webster and MECH entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger,
dated as of December 1, 1999 (the "Agreement") pursuant to which, among other
things, MECH will merge with and into Webster; and
WHEREAS, the Boards of Directors of Webster and MECH have determined that
it is advisable and in the best interests of their respective companies and
shareholders to amend the Agreement to provide that the Merger contemplated by
the Agreement may be accounted for as a purchase transaction;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, representations,
warranties and agreements contained herein and in the Agreement, and intending
to be legally bound hereby, the parties agree to amend Agreement as follows:
FIRST
MECH hereby represents and warrants to Webster, which representation and
warranty is being relied upon by Webster as a material inducement to enter into
and perform this Amendment, that MECH has received an oral opinion from KBW, to
be confirmed in writing, to the effect that, in KBW's opinion, the consideration
to be paid by Webster to stockholders of MECH pursuant to the Agreement, as
amended hereby, is fair to such holders of MECH Common Stock from a financial
point of view ("Updated Fairness Opinion") and KBW has consented to the
inclusion of the written Updated Fairness Opinion in the Registration Statement.
SECOND
Section 1.10 of the Agreement is hereby revised and replaced in its entirety by
the following language:
1.10 Accounting Treatment.
It is intended that the Merger be accounted for as a "purchase"
transaction under generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"),
unless otherwise determined by Webster.
THIRD
Section 4.11 of the Agreement is hereby revised and replaced in its entirety by
the following language:
4.11 Tax and Accounting Treatment of Merger.
As of the date of this Agreement, Webster is not aware of any
fact or state of affairs that could cause the Merger not to be treated
as a "reorganization" under Section 368(a) of the Code.
FOURTH
Section 5.1(k) of the Agreement is hereby revised by replacing the last sentence
thereof with the following language:
Bonus, commission and other incentive payments may continue to be made
in the ordinary course in accordance with past practices to the extent
such payments would not jeopardize the pooling-of-interests accounting
treatment for the Merger, whether or not the Merger is accounted for
as a pooling-of-interests.
FIFTH
Section 5.5 of the Agreement is hereby revised and replaced in its entirety by
the following language:
5.5 Qualified Plans.
MECH and its Subsidiary may not terminate any of their respective
plans that are intended to be "qualified" under Code section 401,
except that MECH and its Subsidiary may terminate their employee stock
ownership plan (the "MECH ESOP") and the Mechanics Savings Bank
Pension Plan to the extent that such termination would not jeopardize
the "qualified" status of either such plan. As to any of such plans
that are not terminated, pro-rata proportional accruals may be made to
the account of each participant in such plan at the Effective Time, in
accordance with the provisions of the plan and in accordance with past
practice and in the same proportion as the percentage of a year that
has passed as of the Effective Time bears to the full year. For
example, if the Effective Time is July 1, 2000, 183 days will have
passed, including
the day of the Effective Time as a day that has passed, representing
50% of the days in the year 2000. Accordingly, an accrual of 50% of
the aggregate annual accrual for the applicable plan may be made at
the Effective Time. Nevertheless, no such accruals shall be made to
the extent any such accrual would jeopardize the pooling-of-interests
accounting treatment of the Merger, (whether or not the Merger is
accounted for as a pooling of interests), or the qualified status of
the applicable plan.
SIXTH
Section 6.6(b) of the Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following
new sentence at the end thereof:
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if MECH and its Subsidiary terminate
the MECH ESOP before the Effective Time, Webster and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Bank
shall not be required to allow the MECH Employees to participate in
any employee stock ownership plan maintained by Webster or ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
Bank until January 1, 2002.
SEVENTH
Section 7.1(g) of the Agreement is hereby deleted in its entirety.
EIGHTH
The definition of "Index Group" at Section 8.1 of the Agreement is hereby
revised and replaced in its entirety by the following language:
"Index Group" means the bank and savings and loan holding companies
set forth at Annex A hereto, the common stocks of all of which shall
be publicly traded and as to which there shall not have been, since
the Starting Date and before the Determination Date, an announcement
of a proposal for such company to be acquired or for such company to
acquire another company or companies in transactions with a value
exceeding 25% of the acquiror's market capitalization as of the
Starting Date. In the event that the common stock of any such company
ceases to be publicly traded or any such announcement is made with
respect to any such company, such company shall be removed from the
Index Group, and the weights (which have been determined based on the
number of outstanding shares of common stock) redistributed
proportionately for purposes of determining the Index Price.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Webster and MECH have caused this Amendment Number 1 to
the Agreement to be executed and delivered by their respective officers
thereunto duly authorized as of the date first above written.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ FINANCIAL CORPORATION
ATTEST:
By:_____________________________________ By:________________________________
Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Name: ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇
Title: Senior Vice President, Title: Chairman and Chief Executive
General Counsel and Secretary Officer
MECH FINANCIAL, INC.
ATTEST:
By:_____________________________________ By:________________________________
Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇ Name: ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Title: Executive Vice President Title: Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer
Annex A
-------
Company Symbol Weighing (%)
------- ------ ------------
Peoples Heritage Financial Group, Inc. PHBK 11.67%
Astoria Financial Corporation ASFC 11.60%
Valley National Bancorp VLY 10.48%
▇▇▇▇▇▇ Bancorp, Inc. RSLN 9.58%
People's Bank (MHC) PBCT 9.23%
▇▇▇▇▇▇ Financial Corporation FULT 9.16%
Commerce Bancorp, Inc. CBH 8.53%
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Corporation CHZ 6.33%
Independence Community Bancorp ICBC 5.70%
Staten Island Bancorp, Inc. SIB 5.17%
Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. SUSQ 4.33%
Queens County Bancorp, Inc. QCSB 4.22%
Richmond County Financial Corp. RCBK 4.01%
-----
100.0%
