Avidia Bank completes $192M offering in effort to go public on New York Stock Exchange

Photo | Grant Welker Avidia Bank's headquarters in Hudson

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Hudson-based Avidia Bank has completed a subscription offering as part of its efforts to convert from a mutual community bank to a publicly-traded financial institution on the New York Stock Exchange.

The offering came as part of Avidia Bank’s efforts to go public, which it began in March with a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Avidia said the move will help it deal with competition from larger financial institutions while remaining independent and continuing to grow its commercial real estate loan portfolio, according to the March filing.

The subscription offering closed on July 17 and saw Avidia depositors order more than the $191.8 million in available shares, meaning the bank will follow rules outlined in an earlier prospectus in order to distribute the available shares among those who ordered them, according to a July 8 press release from Avidia. Depositors who have been with Avida since before December 2023 are given first priority.

“The capital we are raising in the conversion and stock offering will enable us to increase our lending and investment capacity,” Avidia’s March filing reads. “In addition to organic growth, we may also consider expansion opportunities in our market area or in contiguous markets that we believe would enhance our franchise value and stockholder returns. These opportunities may include establishing new, or de novo, branch offices, acquiring branch offices, establishing loan production offices, or acquiring other financial institutions.”

Avidia has no current plans or intentions to open new branches. In addition to filing with the SEC, Avidia is seeking approval for the transition into a stock-holding company from the Massachusetts Division of Banks, according to a March 31 press release from the firm.

Avidia plans on trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AVBC. The bank will establish a charitable foundation funded by shares of its common stock and cash post-merger to support charitable organizations in the region, according to its SEC filing.

Avidia was formed through the 2007 merger of Hudson Savings Bank and Westborough Bank, both of which were founded in 1869. The bank has branches in Hudson, Clinton, Framingham, Leominster, Marlborough, Northborough, Shrewsbury, and Westborough, according to its website.

Avidia Bank is the eighth largest bank in Central Massachusetts when ranked by local deposits, with $2 billion in local deposits and $2.7 billion in total assets, according to data compiled to the WBJ Research Department. The bank has 250 employees and is led by President & CEO Robert Cozzone, who joined Avidia in 2023.

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.