First Place Financial Corp. OC Financial, Inc.
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June 17, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
First Place Financial Corp. OC Financial Inc.
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Steven R. Lewis, President & CEO Diane M. Gregg,
David W. Gifford, CFO President & CEO
330-373-1221 614-761-2302
OC Financial, Inc. Announces
Shareholder Vote in Favor of Acquisition by First Place Financial Corp.
WARREN and DUBLIN, Ohio, June 17, 2008 - OC Financial, Inc. (OTC-BB: OCFL), the
holding company for Ohio Central Savings, today announced that its shareholders
approved the proposed acquisition of OC Financial by First Place Financial Corp.
(NASDAQ: FPFC), the holding company for First Place Bank, at the annual meeting
of shareholders of OC Financial held on June 16, 2008. The terms of the merger
agreement by and between First Place and OC Financial call for shareholders of
OC Financial to receive 0.9615 shares of First Place common stock for each share
of OC Financial common stock that they own.
The acquisition received regulatory approval from the Office of Thrift
Supervision, but remains subject to certain customary closing conditions. Both
companies anticipate completing the acquisition by the end of June 2008 and the
subsequent merger of First Place Bank and Ohio Central Savings by the middle of
July 2008.
At the annual meeting, shareholders of OC Financial also reelected directors
Robert W. Hughes, Thomas H. Lagos and Thomas J. Parliment and ratified the
appointment of OC Financial's independent registered public accounting firm,
Beard Miller Company LLP.
About First Place Financial Corp.
First Place Financial Corp., a $3.3 billion financial services holding company
based in Warren, Ohio, operates 43 retail locations, 2 business financial
service centers and 20 loan production offices through the First Place Bank and
Franklin Bank divisions of First Place Bank. Additional affiliates of First
Place Financial Corp. include First Place Insurance Agency, Ltd.; Coldwell
Banker First Place Real Estate, Ltd.; TitleWorks Agency, LLC; and APB Financial
Group, Ltd., an employee benefit-consulting firm and specialist in wealth
management services for businesses and consumers. Information about First Place
Financial Corp. may be found on the Company's Web site at
www.firstplacebank.com.
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About OC Financial, Inc.
OC Financial, Inc. is a $68.5 million financial services holding company
headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Its primary subsidiary, Ohio Central Savings
provides financial services to individuals, families and businesses in the
Columbus, Ohio and Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan areas through full service
banking offices located in Dublin, Ohio and Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Information
about OC Financial may be found on the Company's Web site at www.ocsavings.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined
in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words or phrases such
as "expect," "believe," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "may," "should," "will
likely result," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project" and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results to be materially
different from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. The following
factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the
anticipated results or other expectations expressed in forward looking
statements: (1) the businesses of First Place and OC Financial may not be
combined successfully or such combination may take longer to accomplish than
expected; (2) the cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or may
take longer to realize than expected; (3) operating costs, customer loss and
business disruption following the merger, including adverse effects on
relationships with employees, may be greater than expected; (4) changes in
general economic conditions, which could affect the volume of loan originations,
deposit flows and real estate values, credit quality trends; (5) changes in
laws, regulations or policies by government or regulatory agencies, (6)
fluctuations in interest rates, (7) change in the demand for loans in the market
areas that First Place and OC Financial conduct their respective business, and
(8) competition from other financial services companies in First Place's and OC
Financial's markets. These statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about First Place's and OC Financial's plans, objectives,
expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this presentation
that are not historical facts. First Place and OC Financial caution readers not
to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only
as of the date made. First Place and OC Financial undertake no obligation to
publicly release the result of any revisions that may be made to any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of
such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated
events.