The Shareholders Foundation announces that an investigation on behalf of investors, who currently hold shares of Franklin Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FRNK), was launched concerning whether the takeover of Franklin Financial Corp by TowneBank for a value of approximately $23.04 per share is unfair to NASDAQ:FRNK stockholders.
Investors who purchased shares of Franklin Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FRNK) and currently hold any of those NASDAQ:FRNK shares have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1(858) 779 – 1554.
The investigation by a law firm concerns whether certain officers and directors of Franklin Financial breached their fiduciary duties owed to NASDAQ:FRNK investors in connection with the proposed acquisition.
On July 15, 2014, TowneBank (NASDAQ: TOWN) and Franklin Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: FRNK) announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which TowneBank will acquire Franklin Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FRNK). Under the terms of the agreement, common shareholders of Franklin Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FRNK) will receive 1.40 shares of TowneBank common stock for each share of Franklin. This implies a deal value per NASDAQ:FRNK share of $23.04 or approximately $275 million based on TowneBank’s closing stock price of $16.46 on Monday, July 14, 2014.
However, given that NASDAQ:FRNK shares traded as recently as July 2, 2014, as high as $24.60 per share in the open market, the investigation concerns whether the offer is unfair to NASDAQ:FRNK stockholders. More specifically, the investigation concerns whether the Franklin Financial Board of Directors undertook an adequate sales process, adequately shopped the company before entering into the transaction, maximized shareholder value by negotiating the best price, and acted in the shareholders’ best interests in connection with the proposed sale.
Franklin Financial Corp reported that its Total Net Income rose from $1.43 million for the 12 months period that ended on Sept. 30, 2011 to $9.35 million for the 12 months period that ended on Sept. 30, 2013. Shares of Franklin Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FRNK) grew from $10.90 per share in November 2011 to as high as $24.60 per share on July 2, 2014.
On July 25, 2014, NASDAQ:FRNK shares closed at $19.92 per share.
Those who are current investors in Franklin Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FRNK) shares have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation.
Contact:
Shareholders Foundation, Inc.
Michael Daniels
3111 Camino Del Rio North – Suite 423
92108 San Diego
Phone: +1-(858)-779-1554
Fax: +1-(858)-605-5739
mail@shareholdersfoundation.com