CFBX Community First Bankshares (MM)

Community First Shareholders Approve Merger With BancWest Corporation FARGO, N.D., June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Community First Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFBX) announced today that its shareholders have voted in favor of the company's merger with BancWest Corporation ("BancWest"). At the company's annual meeting held today in Minneapolis, Minn., Community First shareholders voted approximately 25.6 million shares in favor of the merger, or approximately 69.4 percent of total shares outstanding, well in excess of the majority required to approve the agreement. Of the total shares voted, approximately 96.5 percent were voted in favor of the merger. Community First shareholders will receive $32.25 in cash for each share of common stock. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the third quarter. There are currently 36.9 million shares of Community First common stock outstanding. The company also announced that $50 million in unsecured subordinated notes issued in 1997 at 7.30% have been paid at maturity on June 30, 2004. Community First Bankshares, a $5.5 billion financial services company, provides a complete line of banking, investment, insurance, mortgage and trust products to individuals and businesses. The company's extensive offering of financial products and services is marketed through full-service offices in 138 communities in 12 states-Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The company's services include an online banking system that offers electronic bill payment and discount brokerage capabilities, telephone banking and an extensive ATM network. Community First Bankshares stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market(R) under the symbol CFBX. The latest investor and other corporate information is available at its Web site, http://www.communityfirst.com/ . This press release contains forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical earnings and those presently anticipated or projected. The company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward- looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from the results discussed in the forward- looking statements include, but are not limited to: risk of loans and investments, including dependence on local economic conditions; competition for the company's customers from other providers of financial services; possible adverse effects of changes in interest rates; execution and implementation of a series of previously announced strategic initiatives; balance sheet and capital ratio risks related to the share repurchase program; risks related to the company's acquisition and market extension strategy, including risks of adversely changing results of operations and factors affecting the company's ability to consummate further acquisitions or extend its markets; and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the company. DATASOURCE: Community First Bankshares, Inc. CONTACT: Jeff Wilhoit of Financial Relations Board, +1-312-640-6757, , or Mark A. Anderson of Community First Bankshares, Inc., +1-701-298-5600, Web site: http://www.communityfirst.com/

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