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Driver Management, founded two years ago by
former investment banker Abbott Cooper, owns a 6% stake in
Codorus, a bank holding company, and is expected to make a
regulatory filing disclosing its stake and some of its
intentions soon, the sources said.
Codorus, which is headquartered in York, Pennsylvania, is valued
at $202 million and specializes in providing banking services
through its subsidiary PeoplesBank in south central Pennsylvania
and northern Maryland. Its share price has climbed 21% this year
and traded at $20.20 on Tuesday.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Driver's new investment comes as analysts are forecasting a
pickup in mergers and acquisitions in the still-fragmented small
bank sector. Driver has successfully pushed for other banks to
be bought over the past two years.
Cooper wants Codorus to immediately hire a financial adviser to
review all options including a sale, a source familiar with the
fund manager's thinking said.
He has expressed concerns to the bank about long-term
underperformance and a lack of scale, and has offered to enter a
standstill agreement if the bank seriously considers a sale, the
source said.
For Driver, the new investment comes on the heels of a win. Last
month United Bankshares said that it would buy Community Bankers
Trust Corporation, which Driver had last year pushed to sell
itself. Driver Management has gained roughly 48% since January,
a person familiar with its return said.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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