BRIEF: Cross Insurance buys Bangor competitor Sargent, Tyler & West

July 20--PORTLAND, Maine -- Cross Insurance has purchased competing Bangor-based insurer Sargent, Tyler and West for an undisclosed price.

Cross announced its purchase of the nearly 200-year-old insurer Wednesday, saying it plans to merge the Bangor office's accounts into its 491 Main St. headquarters in the next several weeks.

"The Bucksport office will continue to be managed by Terry Grindle, and remain a separate branch office," Alice Dyer, vice president of Cross Financial Corp., said in a news release.

The Bucksport office is located at 159 U.S. Route 1.

The company did not state whether there would be any impact to employment levels at Sargent, Tyler and West and was not immediately available for comment.

Michael Shea, president of Sargent, Tyler and West, said this affiliation will "enable us to offer additional products and services to our consumer and business clientele."

Cross Insurance has made a string of acquisitions in recent years, acquiring more than 100 insurance agencies throughout New England to have more than 700 employees in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Florida.

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