New York, NY: (Oct-19-07) A class action and derivative lawsuit was brought against Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach, by shareholder Marcus Walker, naming certain present and former officers and directors of the Bank and the Bank as nominal defendant. As part of a settlement reached in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Orange, the bank agreed to commit to make certain distributions to shareholders that could be as high as $86 million.
As part of the commitment, the company said that it would commence a tender offer after the effective date of the proposed settlement whereby it would offer to purchase up to 14,720 shares of its common stock at a price of $7,300 per share. In the event the proposed tender offer does not proceed or close for any reason, the company would instead commit to make distribution to shareholders for a total amount of $86 million. [TRADING MARKETS: SHAREHOLDER SETTLEMENT]
