In Brief: Charter One Returns To the M&A Game

Charter One Financial Inc. jumped back into the acquisition game Wednesday, saying it would buy locally based Haverfield Corp. for $53.7 million in stock.

Charter One, which has built its assets to $14 billion largely through acquisitions, said the deal would help build on its presence in its home market.

Haverfield, which operates as Home Bank, has $342 million of assets, $273 million of deposits, and 10 branches.

Charter One said two of Haverfield's branches would be closed after the deal.

The transaction price equals 1.8 times Haverfield's book value, or about 16 times its estimated 1997 earnings. Analysts called the price "reasonable."

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. The last time Charter One completed a bank or thrift acquisition was in October 1995.

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