Re: | Dawson Geophysical Company Registration Statement on Form S-4 Filed August 8, 2011 File No. 333-174843 |
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1. | All references in todays comment letter to prior comments refer to comments from the letter dated August 4, 2011. References to page numbers in this comment letter correspond to the pagination that appears in the marked version of the current amendment (that is, the version you provided us which shows insertions as well as deletions). To expedite the staffs review, please continue to key your page references in your letter of response to the marked version. | |
Dawson acknowledges the Staffs comment. Accordingly, as requested, this response letter includes page number references keying each response to the applicable page or pages of the marked version of Amendment No. 3 (that is being delivered herewith) where the responsive disclosure can be found. |
2. | We received the materials you provided in response to prior comment 3 and it now appears that both advisors lacked data points for at least some of the analyses they performed. For example, we refer you to page 15 of the newly provided materials. In that regard, please revise the disclosure which appears at page 74 to make clear that in deriving the Enterprise Value / Forward EBITDA shown, Raymond James had data for only 10 of the 14 listed transactions, and make similar revisions to the descriptions of the various analysis summaries, as appropriate. | |
In response to the Staffs comment, please see the revised disclosure on pages 78, 84 and 86 of the marked version of Amendment No. 3. |
3. | We re-issue prior comment 10, in part. If Southwest Securities conveyed to the TGC board any of its qualitative judgments about the significance and relevance of the relative contribution analysis or provided any additional material context that is not fully communicated in your disclosure, please revise to provide the reader with this information as well. Please also clarify the relevance of the anticipated operational and financial synergies vis-à-vis deal fairness to TGC shareholders. | |
Southwest Securities has confirmed to TGC that it did not convey to the TGC board any of its qualitative judgments about the significance or relevance of the relative contribution analysis and did not provide any additional material context that is not fully communicated in the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure regarding |
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Southwest Securities opinion in Amendment No. 3 is complete in this regard. In response to the final sentence of the Staffs comment, please see the revised disclosure on page 88 of the marked version of Amendment No. 3. |
4. | We note your response to prior comment 12, but you continue to suggest that the discussion/opinion assumes that ... therefore the merger would qualify as a reorganization under Section 368(a)... Also further revise the disclosure in this section to eliminate any ambiguity with regard to the disclosure already constituting an opinion, rather than merely referring to the receipt of some future opinion. Similarly, revise to clarify that the letters you filed as exhibits serve only to confirm (as short form opinions) the opinion actually set forth at pages 123-124. For example, you indicate in the first paragraph of this section that the discussion ... is the opinion of named counsel, but then in the following locations you suggest that the reader look to the exhibits for the opinions: |
| The first paragraph (The opinions of counsel are included as exhibits); | ||
| Second paragraph under Qualification of the Merger as a Reorganization (Each tax opinion included as an exhibit...); | ||
| Third paragraph under Qualification of the Merger as a Reorganization (seeming to make a distinction between the conclusions set forth in the opinions and those described herein.) |
In response to the Staffs comment, please see the revised disclosure on pages 127 and 128 of the marked version of Amendment No. 3. | ||
5. | Similarly, please obtain and file revised opinions of counsel that clarify in each case the reference to the opinion set forth below, if the reference is retained. | |
In response to the Staffs comment, please see the revised tax opinions filed as exhibits to Amendment No. 3. |
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6. | Please continue to update this section to include all required Exchange Act filings. You need to identify all subsequently filed Exchange Act reports in this section prior to effectiveness. For guidance, refer to Question and Answer 123.05 (Securities Act Forms) of the Division of Corporation Finances Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations, available on our website at http://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/cfguidance.shtml. | |
In response to the Staffs comment, please see the updated disclosure on page 153 of the marked version of Amendment No. 3. |
| should the Commission or the Staff, acting pursuant to delegated authority, declare the filing effective, it does not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; | ||
| the action of the Commission or the Staff, acting pursuant to delegated authority, in declaring the filing effective, does not relieve Dawson from its full responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing; and | ||
| Dawson may not assert Staff comments and the declaration of effectiveness as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. |
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Very truly yours, | ||||
/s/ Neel Lemon
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cc: | Stephen C. Jumper Dawson Geophysical Company Sarah Rechter Baker Botts L.L.P. Alexandra M. Ledbetter, Attorney-Advisor |
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