Farmers cancels meeting

Staff report

canfield

Farmers National Banc Corp., the parent company of Farmers National Bank, has canceled its special meeting of shareholders scheduled for Thursday.

The meeting had been scheduled for a shareholders vote on seven proposed amendments to the company’s articles of incorporation and code of regulations. The company also had hoped the shareholders would adopt Farmers’ 2010 replacement-equity plan.

The company decided to postpone the meeting after shareholders expressed concerns about the proposed changes, Farmers President Frank Paden said in a statement.

“It has become clear from our dialogue with the shareholders that the sheer number of proposals has created quite a bit of confusion,” Paden said. “We think that this confusion has resulted in many shareholders opting not to vote at all on key proposals.”

The board of directors has decided to address the amendments separately, said Chief Operating Officer John Gulas.

“After calls from shareholders, we decided to do this in stages,” Gulas said. “We are hoping to put forth one or two items at the next meeting.”

The board first will move forward with a shareholder vote on an amendment that would eliminate “pre- emptive rights,” Gulas said.

In the event of an offering, pre-emptive rights allow select shareholders to purchase additional shares in the company before the general public.

Eliminating pre-emptive rights is essential to Farmers’ ability to raise capital, Gulas said.

The company soon will file and distribute new materials for a new special meeting, which likely will take place sometime in August, Gulas said.