Exhibit 99.1
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[letterhead of First Niagara Financial Group, Inc.]
FIRST NIAGARA FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. CONCLUDES SUBSCRIPTION AND COMMUNITY
OFFERING PORTION OF SECOND STEP CONVERSION OFFERING
Lockport, New York - (December 27, 2002) First Niagara Financial Group, Inc.
(the "Company") (Nasdaq: FNFG), the holding company for First Niagara Bank,
announced that the subscription and community offering portion of its second
step conversion offering of the Company concluded on December 23, 2002.
The Company received more than 7,300 stock orders from depositors and the
public. William E. Swan, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Company said, "I am pleased with the large number of orders from depositors and
the public, and I appreciate this sign of confidence in our organization."
The Company and Ryan Beck & Co. Inc., marketing agent for the offering, are in
the process of tabulating final orders. The Company estimates that it has
received orders in the subscription and community offering for approximately
$110,000,000 of common stock. As previously contemplated, the Company has
authorized Ryan Beck & Co., Inc. to conduct a syndicated community offering of
unsold shares of common stock, expected to commence on or about January 6, 2003.
Subject to market conditions and regulatory approval, First Niagara Financial
Group, Inc. anticipates completing the offering at no more than the midpoint of
the offering range. As in the subscription and community offerings, the shares
of common stock of the Company will be offered for sale at a price of $10.00 per
share. The syndicated community offering will be conducted pursuant to the
Prospectus dated November 14, 2002, and Ryan Beck & Co., Inc. will manage the
selling group of broker-dealers. Orders received in the subscription and
community offerings will be maintained, with interest on subscribers' funds
continuing to accrue until consummation of the offering.
The completion of First Niagara Financial Group, Inc.'s offering remains subject
to (i) confirmation by RP Financial, L.C., the Company's independent appraiser,
of the Company's existing appraisal, (ii) approval of the plan of conversion and
reorganization by members (i.e. depositors First Niagara Bank) of First Niagara
Financial Group, MHC and shareholders of First Niagara Financial Group, Inc. at
special meetings to be held on January 9, 2003, and (iii) receipt of final
regulatory approvals.
The Company recently announced receipt of Office of Thrift Supervision approval
for the acquisition of Finger Lakes Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: FLBC) and its wholly
owned subsidiary, Savings Bank of the Finger Lakes, FSB. The merger remains
subject to the approval of the shareholders of Finger Lakes Bancorp, Inc. at a
special meeting to be held on December 30, 2002.
The Company does not expect that the syndicated community offering will delay
the completion of its offering of shares of common stock. Subject to final
depositor, regulatory and shareholder approvals, the conversion, stock offering
and acquisition are expected to be consummated in January 2003, and shares of
First Niagara Financial Group, Inc. common stock issued in the offering will
begin trading on the Nasdaq National Market System, under the symbol "FNFGD" for
a period of twenty (20) trading days and under the symbol "FNFG" thereafter.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements about the proposed
conversion and related stock offering and the acquisition of Finger Lakes
Bancorp, Inc. These include statements regarding the anticipated consummation
date of the transactions.
Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate
strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words like
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate" and "intend" or future or
conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could" or "may." Certain
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected
results include delays in completing the conversion and acquisition and changes
in the securities markets.
This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to
buy shares of common stock. The offer is made only by the Prospectus. The shares
of common stock are not deposit accounts, and are not insured by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Corporate Information
First Niagara Financial Group, Inc. Transfer Agent and Registrar
6950 South Transit Road Mellon Investor Services, LLC
P.O. Box 514 P.O. Box 3315
Lockport, New York 14095-0514 South Hackensack, NJ 07606
Telephone (800) 201-6621 Telephone (877) 785-9670
www.firstniagarafinancial.com www.melloninvestor.com
Press releases are being distributed by PR Newswire and can be found on the
Internet, as well as appropriate trade media and financial disclosure circuits.
News, analyst presentations and other information about the Corporation are
available on the Internet at the Corporation's website,
www.firstniagarafinancial.com. For additional information about First Niagara
Financial Group, Inc. please contact:
Investor Relations: Media Relations:
Christopher J. Thome Leslie G. Garrity
Assistant Vice President, Assistant Vice President
Reporting and Investor Relations Manager Public Relations and Corporate
(716) 625-7645 Communications
chris.thome@fnfg.com (716) 625-7528
leslie.garrity@fnfg.com