Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Legacy Bancorp have agreed to sell four Legacy branches in Berkshire County, Massachusetts to NBT Bancorp subsidiary NBT Bank.

Under the agreement, the affected branches will operate as they are until their transfer to NBT. All branch employees shall then be absorbed by their new owner. Both companies had said in a SEC filing on 18 May 2011 that they intend to offload several of the Legacy branches to prevent potential problems with their planned merger, which has a target completion date of 21 July.

The sale to NBT has already been approved by the Department of Justice. 

The four branches concerned are Great Barrington, Lee, Pittsfield, and North Adams. They will be sold for a 6 per cent premium, with a target close date of 31 October. They carry deposits totaling $158 million.