Add ASB Financial Corp. in Portsmouth, Ohio, to the list of small, publicly traded banking companies deciding to go private to escape Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements.
The $173 million-asset parent of American Savings Bank said Thursday that it would conduct a reverse stock split that would leave it with 240 shareholders, thus freeing it from filing financial reports with the SEC.
ASB said that the move would save it at least $200,000 in the first year and $150,000 a year after that.
Dozens of small, publicly traded companies - including many banks and thrifts - have gone private since Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 in response to a wave of corporate scandals. ASB, which went public in 1995, said its board has approved the 1-for-300 reverse split, in which it would buy back stock at $23 a share. Stockholders are expected to vote on the plan next month.
ASB's stock soared on news of the buyback. In volume that was nearly 50 times its daily average, the stock closed at $22 Thursday, up 6.5%.
