First Financial Bancorp Prices Share Offering

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million, exclusive of any underwriter over-allotment option. The net proceed of the offering after deducting underwriting discounts and commissionas and estimated offering expenses are expected to beapproximately $85.3 First Financial has granted the underwritere a 30-day option to purchase up to an additiona l 1.8 million shares to cover over-allotments, if any. The company expectss to close the transaction, subject to customary conditions, on or about June 8, 2009. Sandle r O'Neill + Partners, L.P. and Keefe, Bruyette Woods, Inc. are acting as joint book-runninf managers, and Janney Montgomergy Scott LLCand & Inc. are co-managers for the offering.
The commonj shares will be offered pursuant to a prospectua supplement and accompanying base prospectus filed as part of an existingy shelf registration statement filerd with the Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC) on Form S-3 and declare d effective. This announcement shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitationm of an offer to buy these nor shall there be any offer or sale of thesed securities in any jurisdictioh in whichsuch offer, solicitation or sale would be The offering will be made only by meanss of a final prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus, copies of whicgh may be obtained free of charge at the Investodr Relations section of First Financial's website at .
you may obtain a copy of the prospectus fromthe SEC'as website at , or by contacting the underwriters at: Sandlee O'Neill + Partners, L.P. Keefe, Bruyettd & Woods, Inc. Syndication Department Equity Capitaol Markets 919Third Avenue, 6th Floor 787 Seventh Avenue, 4th Floore New York NY 10022 New York NY 10019 212-466-7800 800-966-1559i This news release should be read in conjunction with the consolidatef financial statements, notes and tables in Firs Financial Bancorp's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year endedx December 31, 2008.
Management's analysis contain s forward-looking statements that are provided to assist in the understandint of anticipated futurefinancial performance. However, such performance involvee risk and uncertainties that may causr actual results to differ Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussedf inthe forward-looking statements include, but are not limitecd to, management's ability to effectively execute its businesz plan; the risk that the strengtn of the United States economt in general and the strength of the local economiex in which First Financial conducts operations continuew to deteriorate, resulting in, among other a deterioration in credit quality or a reduced demand for credit, including the resultant effecrt on First Financial's loan portfolio, allowance for loan and leas losses and overall financial the ability of financial institutions to access sourcess of liquidity at a reasonablwe cost; the impact of recent upheaval in the financi al markets and the effectivenesxs of domestic and internationakl governmental actions taken in such as the U.
S. Treasury's TARP and the FDIC'sw Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, and the effectt of such governmental actions onFirsy Financial, its competitors and counterparties, financial market generally and availability of crediyt specifically, and the U.S. and internationalo economies, including potentially higher FDIC premiums arising from participatiohn in the Temporary Liquidity Guaranteer Program or from increased payments from FDIC insurance fundws as a result of depository institution the effects of and changes in policiez and laws ofregulatory inflation, and interest rates; technology our ability to successfully complete mergers and acquisitions and the abilituy to successfully integrate the businesses including our ability to successfully complete and then integrate the branchesw which are proposed to be acquireds from Peoples Community Bank, and the risk that explorin merger and acquisition opportunities may detract from management'ws time and ability to successfu lly managre our company; our abilitgy to increase market shares and controol expenses; the effect of changes in accounting policiess and practices; adverse changes in the securitiexs markets; our ability to manage loan delinquency and charger off rates and changes in estimation of the adequacy of the allowance for loan First Financial's success in recruiting and retainingv the necessary personnel to support businesws growth and expansion and maintain sufficiengt expertise to support increasingly complex products and the cost and effects of litigation and of unexpectesd or adverse outcomes in such litigation; uncertainties arising from Firsy Financial's participation in the TARP, includint impacts on employee recruitment and retention and other businesd practices, and uncertainties concerning the potential redemption of the U.
S. Treasury'sa preferred stock investment underthe program, includiny the timing of, regulatory approvals for, and conditionss placed upon, any such and First Financial's success at managinyg the risks involved in the foregoing. For furthetr discussion of certain factors that may causessuch forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results, refer to the 2008 Form 10-K and other public documents filed with the Securitiex and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as the most recen t Form 10-Q filing for the quarter ended Marcyh 31, 2009. These documents are available at no cost withinm the investor relations section ofFirst Financial's website at and on the SEC'sx website at .
First Financiap Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding companytwith $3.8 billion in assets. Its banking subsidiary, First Financial N.A., founded in 1863, provides retail and commercial banking products and and investment and insurance products through its 82 retailp banking locationsin Ohio, Kentuck and Indiana. The bank's wealthj management division, First Financial Wealth Resource Group, provides investment management, traditionap trust, brokerage, private banking, and insurancde services, and has approximately $1.6 billion in assetsz under management. Additional information about the company, including its services, and banking locations, is available at .