Matthew A. Lindenbaum, of Basswood Capital Management, submit a letter to the board of Metro Bancorp, Inc. (“METR”) yesterday pushing for the sale of the company. “We strongly believe the best course for shareholders, employees, and the communities is for METR to begin a process that leads to a sale of the company to a larger bank. Given the intense competitive environment, weak economy, and increased regulatory pressures, METR will continue to struggle to generate shareholder value if it maintains its current course as a stand-alone company. As you know, since the peak in August 2005, METR’s stock is down over 40%. There are several larger banks, however, that would make attractive merger partners for METR and that would be able to pay a significant premium to METR’s current stock price.” Source: Filing
