NewBridge Bancorp has announced that its banking subsidiary, NewBridge Bank, has entered into an agreement to acquire the business operations of Bradford Mortgage Company (“Bradford Mortgage”), a subsidiary of ACM Financial Trust Inc. headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C. The acquisition includes the purchase of select assets including the name “Bradford Mortgage” and is expected to close by Dec. 31, 2009.

“Bradford Mortgage has excellent name-brand reputation in the Piedmont Triad region, and we are delighted with the opportunity to align our interests. This acquisition will more than triple the size of NewBridge Bank’s residential mortgage activities, resulting in added efficiency, products and services," said Pressley A. Ridgill, president and chief executive officer of NewBridge. “Bradford Mortgage has excellent name-brand reputation in the Piedmont Triad region, and we are delighted with the opportunity to align our interests. This acquisition will more than triple the size of NewBridge Bank’s residential mortgage activities, resulting in added efficiency, products and services.”

Following the acquisition, the management team of Bradford Mortgage will assume leadership responsibilities for the Bank’s mortgage division and will report to the Bank’s chief banking officer and executive vice president, David Barksdale. Bradford Mortgage’s current production manager, Beth Eller, will be named senior vice president and director of mortgage banking. Bradford Mortgage executives Jeff Cook and Connie Piner will also be joining the Bank’s mortgage management team in senior leadership positions.

Bradford Mortgage was established in 2001 and employs approximately 30 people. Bradford Mortgage operates five offices in North Carolina, including Charlotte, Lake Norman, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem and one office in Charleston, S.C. The Bank anticipates all employees of Bradford Mortgage will become employees of the Bank. The terms of the acquisition include a cash purchase of certain agreed upon assets and is not expected to result in the creation of any goodwill or other intangible assets. Management anticipates the acquisition will be accretive to the earnings of NewBridge.

For more information, visit www.newbridgebank.com.