Officials with Bank of America Corp. said Thursday’s acquisition of MBNA is an opportunity to grow the combined company’s marketing savvy.

The deal is a pricey one for Charlotte-based Bank of America, but “not a shocker,” said Andrew Collins, an analyst at Piper Jaffray in New York.

“They are going to make this as seamless as possible for MBNA customers,” Collins said. “And they will get more banking services as this goes forward because Bank of America has more products.”

The merger also gives MBNA a more powerful distribution channel, according to Bruce Hammonds, MBNA chief executive officer.

“We can solicit [nationally] through the mail, but we don’t have personal contact with potential customers,” he told analysts. “Bank of America has that contact.”

The acquisition of MBNA, which employs approximately 3,000 people at its seven service centers in Maine, is not Bank of America’s first foray into the state.

Last year, Bank of America acquired FleetBoston Financial Corp., the parent company of Fleet Bank, for $47 billion.

With that acquisition, Bank of America took over Fleet’s operations in Maine, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. In Maine, Bank of America signs went up on former Fleet Bank buildings in December.

Lloyd T. LaFountain III, superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions, said Bank of America now has 42 locations around the state, primarily in southern Maine. More than half of its full-service locations are in Cumberland and York counties, he said Thursday.

Eight of those offices are in the Bangor area, two are listed in Knox County, and six are in Kennebec County, he said.

He did not have information on the number of people Bank of America employs in Maine.

Because Bank of America is chartered by the federal government, the state bureau has no oversight of the bank’s operations, according to LaFountain. “They are not a state-chartered institution,” he said.

Collins, the Piper Jaffray analyst, said he liked the $35 billion purchase price, even though he called it a little high.

“It’s not cheap, but the earnings prospects look pretty good,” he said.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The Associated Press contributed to this story,