Projo Biz Blog

Bancorp Rhode Island (BARI:NASDAQ) and a pair of dissident investors have called a truce in their nearly three-year fight over operation of the Providence-based financial institution, according to filings made today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Executives at Bancorp Rhode Island, the parent of the 16-branch Bank Rhode Island, and the partners in the PL Capital LLC hedge fund, have reached a "standstill" agreement in their protracted battle.

With the pact, the bank's management has agreed to cut the size of its board of directors from 15 to 12 people over three years and move to a majority vote system for board elections. In exchange, PL Capital partners Richard Lashley and John Palmer agreed to halt efforts to oust certain BARI exectives and change the way the bank operates

The partners have hounded management at BARI for nearly three years, as the two have pursued a sale of the company.

The partners have a history of taking on the management at banks they consider underperforming, seeking to profit from improved earnings, a quick run-up in stock prices or the sale of their targets. PL Capital owns about 373,000 shares, or about 8.2 percent, of BARI stock.

Lashley and Palmer twice sought seats on the Bancorp Rhode Island board of directors as the partners pushed for the bank's sale. But neither of those things happened. Meanwhile, the company's share price has sunk along with the rest of the stock market, from about $45 in 2006 to below $16 earlier this month.

 Tags  Bancorp Rhode Island bank Bank Rhode Island BARI financial institution Nasdaq PL Capital

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