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SEC Company Response from CIVISTA BANCSHARES, INC. (CIVB) (CIK 0000944745) (CIVB) — Feb 6, 2006

CIVISTA BANCSHARES, INC. (CIVB) (CIK 0000944745)
Date: Feb. 6, 2006 · CIK: 0000944745 · Accession: 0000950152-06-000754

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Date
February 2, 2006
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Form
CORRESP
Company
CIVISTA BANCSHARES, INC. (CIVB) (CIK 0000944745)

Letter

Office of Mergers and Acquisitions Division of Corporate Finance Securities and Exchange Commission Re: First Citizens Banc Corp Schedule TO-I filed January 11, 2006 File No. 5-53073

Dear Mr. Pressman:

On behalf of First Citizens Banc Corp (the “Company”), we are hereby filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) Amendment No. 1 to the Schedule TO-I (the “Amendment”), as initially filed with the Commission on January 11, 2006. We are delivering a clean copy of the Amendment to you, as well as a clean and marked copy of the Offer to Purchase, revised in accordance with this response letter.

Set forth below are the Company’s responses to the Commission’s comments given by letter (the “Comment Letter”) dated January 31, 2006. The responses are numbered to correspond to the comments set forth in the Comment Letter, which for convenience, we have incorporated into the response letter.

Offer to Purchase

Forward Looking Statements, page 4

1.

We remind you that statements made in connection with tender offers are specifically excluded from the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. See Section 21E(b)(2)(C) of the Exchange Act and Regulation M-A telephone interpretation M.2 of the July 2001 Supplement to the Division of Corporation Finance’s Manual of Publicly Available Telephone Interpretations. As a result, please delete the reference to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act or revise the disclosure to make clear that the safe harbor protections do not apply to statements made in connection with the tender offer.

Equal Employment Opportunity / AA Employer, M/F/D/V

Michael K. Pressman

February 2, 2006

Page 2

Response: We note the Staff’s comment and have deleted the reference to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act on page 4 of the revised Offer to Purchase.

Conditions to the Offer, page 12

2.

We note your disclosure that you may exert a condition “regardless of the circumstances giving rise to such event.” We do not object to the imposition of conditions in a tender offer, provided that they are not within the direct or indirect control of the issuer and are specific and capable of objective verification when satisfied. Please revise your condition so that action or omission by you can not trigger the condition.

Response: In response to this comment, we have revised the “Conditions to the Offer” section to indicate that a condition may be triggered regardless of the circumstances giving rise to such event or condition, provided that such condition, event or circumstance is not within our direct or indirect control and is not triggered by any act or omission on our part. Please see pages 12 and 13 of the revised Offer to Purchase.

3.

We note your statement that the failure to exercise a right will not be deemed a waiver of that right. This language suggests that once a condition is triggered, you will make a secondary determination as to whether to proceed with the tender offer. Please note that when a condition is triggered and an offeror decides to proceed with the offer anyway, we believe that this decision constitutes a waiver of the triggered condition. As you are aware, the waiver of a material offer condition may require an extension of the offer, as well as filing of an amendment and dissemination of additional offer materials. Please confirm to us the issuer will not rely on this language to tacitly waive a condition of the offer by failing to expressly assert it.

Response: We confirm that we will not rely on the waiver language to tacitly waive a material condition to the offer by failing to expressly assert it. We will extend the offer, file an amendment or disseminate additional offer materials as required if we waive a material condition to the offer.

4.

We note your statement that any determination you make will “be final and binding on all parties.” Please revise this sentence to more precisely define its scope. It appears that your interpretation of the terms of the tender offer may not necessarily be final and binding on all parties. For example, while you may assert an offer condition when it is triggered, when parties contest asserted conditions, the judgments of courts of competent jurisdiction are generally considered final and binding in such matters.

Response: In response to this comment, we have deleted the sentence “Any determination or judgment by us concerning the events described above will be final and binding on all parties.” on page 13 of the revised Offer to Purchase.

Michael K. Pressman

February 2, 2006

Page 3

The Company hereby acknowledges that:

•

The Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filings;

•

Staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to the Staff comments in the filings reviewed by the Staff do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and

•

The Company may not assert Staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States.

Please call the undersigned or Cipriano S. Beredo at (216) 479-8280 with any comments or questions regarding the Amendment.

Sincerely,
FIRST CITIZENS BANC CORP

Show Raw Text
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm

First Citizens Bacn Corp          Correspondence

    100 East Water Street,

    Sandusky, Ohio 44870-2514

    419-625-4121

    www.fcza.com

February 2, 2006

VIA FACSIMILE (202) 772-9203

Michael K. Pressman

Office of Mergers and Acquisitions

Division of Corporate Finance

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street, NE

Washington, D.C. 20549

    Re:

    First Citizens Banc Corp

Schedule TO-I filed January 11, 2006

File
No. 5-53073

Dear Mr. Pressman:

     On behalf of First Citizens Banc Corp (the “Company”), we are hereby filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) Amendment No. 1 to the Schedule TO-I (the
“Amendment”), as initially filed with the Commission on January 11, 2006. We are delivering a
clean copy of the Amendment to you, as well as a clean and marked copy of the Offer to Purchase,
revised in accordance with this response letter.

     Set forth below are the Company’s responses to the Commission’s comments given by letter (the
“Comment Letter”) dated January 31, 2006. The responses are numbered to correspond to the comments
set forth in the Comment Letter, which for convenience, we have incorporated into the response
letter.

Offer to Purchase

Forward Looking Statements, page 4

    1.

    We remind you that statements made in connection with tender offers are specifically excluded
from the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. See
Section 21E(b)(2)(C) of the Exchange Act and Regulation M-A telephone interpretation M.2 of
the July 2001 Supplement to the Division of Corporation Finance’s Manual of Publicly Available
Telephone Interpretations. As a result, please delete the reference to the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act or revise the disclosure to make clear that the safe harbor protections
do not apply to statements made in connection with the tender offer.

Equal Employment Opportunity / AA Employer, M/F/D/V

Michael K. Pressman

February 2, 2006

Page 2

    Response: We note the Staff’s comment and have deleted the reference to the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act on page 4 of the revised Offer to Purchase.

Conditions to the Offer, page 12

    2.

    We note your disclosure that you may exert a condition “regardless of the circumstances
giving rise to such event.” We do not object to the imposition of conditions in a tender
offer, provided that they are not within the direct or indirect control of the issuer and are
specific and capable of objective verification when satisfied. Please revise your condition
so that action or omission by you can not trigger the condition.

    Response: In response to this comment, we have revised the “Conditions to the Offer”
section to indicate that a condition may be triggered regardless of the circumstances giving
rise to such event or condition, provided that such condition, event or circumstance is not
within our direct or indirect control and is not triggered by any act or omission on our
part. Please see pages 12 and 13 of the revised Offer to Purchase.

    3.

    We note your statement that the failure to exercise a right will not be deemed a waiver of
that right. This language suggests that once a condition is triggered, you will make a
secondary determination as to whether to proceed with the tender offer. Please note that when
a condition is triggered and an offeror decides to proceed with the offer anyway, we believe
that this decision constitutes a waiver of the triggered condition. As you are aware, the
waiver of a material offer condition may require an extension of the offer, as well as filing
of an amendment and dissemination of additional offer materials. Please confirm to us the
issuer will not rely on this language to tacitly waive a condition of the offer by failing to
expressly assert it.

    Response: We confirm that we will not rely on the waiver language to tacitly waive a
material condition to the offer by failing to expressly assert it. We will extend the
offer, file an amendment or disseminate additional offer materials as required if we waive a
material condition to the offer.

    4.

    We note your statement that any determination you make will “be final and binding on
all parties.” Please revise this sentence to more precisely define its scope. It appears
that your interpretation of the terms of the tender offer may not necessarily be final and
binding on all parties. For example, while you may assert an offer condition when it is
triggered, when parties contest asserted conditions, the judgments of courts of competent
jurisdiction are generally considered final and binding in such matters.

    Response: In response to this comment, we have deleted the sentence “Any determination or
judgment by us concerning the events described above will be final and binding on all
parties.” on page 13 of the revised Offer to Purchase.

Michael K. Pressman

February 2, 2006

Page 3

     The Company hereby acknowledges that:

    •

    The Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the
filings;

    •

    Staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to the Staff comments in the
filings reviewed by the Staff do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action
with respect to the filing; and

    •

    The Company may not assert Staff comments as a defense in any proceeding
initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the
United States.

     Please call the undersigned or Cipriano S. Beredo at (216) 479-8280 with any comments or
questions regarding the Amendment.

    Sincerely,

FIRST CITIZENS BANC CORP

    By:

    /s/ James O. Miller

    James O. Miller

Executive Vice President

cc: Cipriano S. Beredo, Esq.

Enclosures