Woronoco Bank to Buy Colton Agency in Mass.

Woronoco Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Woronoco Savings Bank, has signed an agreement to acquire The Colton Agency, Inc., an insurance agency located in Westfield, Mass.

The bank plans to merge the agency with its current insurance subsidiary, Keyes, Mattson & Agan Insurance Agency, Inc. Both agencies will retain their individual names and operate as a member of the Woronoco Financial Group. By agreement of the parties, the terms of the deal were not announced.

The acquisition furthers Woronoco’s strategy of providing a wide range of financial products and services to customers by offering banking, investment and insurance solutions.

“Insurance is an essential piece of our business,” said Cornelius D. Mahoney, chairman, president and CEO. “We’ve worked hard over the last two years to define our market niche as a provider of not only banking products, but also insurance and investment services. The Colton Agency helps us to build the critical mass needed to make the Woronoco Financial Group a leader in the local insurance market,” he said.

The combined agencies’ product offerings include a full line of property and casualty insurance products as well as various life insurance, group life, health and accident insurance products for individuals and commercial clients.

The company expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings. The combined agencies will service more than 11,000 polices and 7,300 clients with annual premiums of approximately $13.3 million. Personal insurance lines will comprise approximately 60% of the business, with commercial and other insurance products making up the remaining 40%. The bank plans to retain the Colton Agency staff, bringing the agencies’ total number of employees to 23.

“We knew we needed to grow as an agency to continue meeting the needs of our clients,” said Colton Agency owner David C. Colton, Jr. “Partnering with local entities such as Woronoco Savings Bank and Keyes, Mattson & Agan Insurance Agency affords many opportunities for us and will only enhance our ability to provide quality service and competitive pricing to our clients.”

Colton will stay on as a consultant with the new agency to facilitate the merging of the two agencies, as well as to maintain client relationships following the merger.

Following the merger, Keyes, Mattson & Agan’s Westfield office and its staff will re-locate into the Colton office.