Three First Niagara directors to join KeyCorp board; acquisition expected to close in Q3

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) on Friday announced that three members of the First Niagara Financial Group (NASDAQ: FNFG) board will join its board of directors once the acquisition closes.

The addition of the First Niagara directors is part of the acquisition agreement, according to a news release from KeyCorp.

The three new directors will increase the size of KeyCorp’s board to 17 members.

Cleveland, Ohio–based KeyCorp, parent company of KeyBank, expects the acquisition to close in the third quarter of this year, Key said. It “remains subject to regulatory approvals,” the banking company added.

The First Niagara directors include Gary Crosby, Austin Adams, and Carlton Highsmith.

“Bringing KeyCorp and First Niagara together has many benefits for our clients, shareholders, and communities, including the opportunity to add such talented individuals to our board,” Beth Mooney, chairman and CEO of KeyCorp, said in the release.

The acquisition will create a regional bank to serve 3 million clients across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest, Key says.

It will make Key a leading bank in upstate New York, with a “strong” market presence in Syracuse, Buffalo, Albany, and Rochester, the company boasted.

About the directors
Gary Crosby has been president and CEO of First Niagara since 2013. He had previously held several different positions within First Niagara, including COO and chief administrative officer. He has been a director of First Niagara since 2013.

Austin Adams retired from JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) in 2006, where he served as the corporate chief information officer. Prior to his role at JPMorgan Chase, he was the chief information officer at Bank One (NYSE: ONE). Adams has been a director of First Niagara since 2014.

Carlton Highsmith founded and served as the president and CEO of The Specialized Packaging Group until its merger with PaperWorks Industries in 2009, according to KeyCorp. He then served as vice chairman of the board until his retirement in 2010. Highsmith had previously been a director of New Alliance Bancshares, Inc., which First Niagara acquired in 2011. He has been a director of First Niagara since then.