Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Announces Filing of a Class Action Lawsuit Against Southwest Bancorp, Inc.

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2017 -- Notice is hereby given that Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, case No. 5:17-cv-00852, on behalf of shareholders of Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (“Southwest” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:OKSB) who have been harmed by Southwest’s and its board of directors’ (the “Board”) alleged violations of Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) in connection with  the proposed merger of the Company with Simmons First National Corporation (“Simmons”).

On December 14, 2016, the Board caused the Company to enter into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (“Proposed Transaction”), under which Southwest’s shareholders stand to receive 0.3903 shares of Simmons common stock and $5.11 in cash for each share of Southwest stock they own (the “Merger Consideration”). As of August 28, 2017, the Merger Consideration reflected an implied value of approximately $25.54 per share of Southwest common stock.

If you wish to obtain information concerning this action or view a copy of the complaint, you can do so by clicking here: www.faruqilaw.com/OKSBnotice.

The complaint alleges that the Form S-4 Registration Statement (the “S-4”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on July 24, 2017, violates Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act because it provides materially incomplete and misleading information about the Company and the Proposed Transaction, including information concerning the Company’s financial projections and analysis, on which the Board relied to recommend the Proposed Transaction as fair to Southwest shareholders.

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Plaintiff is represented by Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a law firm with extensive experience in prosecuting class actions, and significant expertise in actions involving corporate fraud.  Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, was founded in 1995 and the firm maintains its principal office in New York City, with offices in Delaware, California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from the date of this notice.  Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.  If you wish to discuss this action, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact:

Nadeem Faruqi, Esq.
James M. Wilson, Jr., Esq. 
FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP
685 3rd Avenue, 26th Floor 
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]