Tuesday, March 16, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.
HONOLULU -- BancWest Corp., a subsidiary of France's BNP Paribas, is acquiring Community First Bankshares Inc. for about $1.2 billion in cash in a deal that will expand BancWest's business in the Midwest.
Honolulu-based BancWest said Monday it will pay $32.25 a share to acquire the Fargo, N.D.-based parent company of Community First National Bank, which operates 155 branches in 12 states from California to Minnesota.
That represents a 15 percent premium over Community First's closing price of $28 a share on Monday in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
All 155 Community First branches will become part of Bank of the West, one of BancWest's subsidiaries. This will give Bank of the West a total of 451 branches in 16 states, including Nevada. Bank of the West has seven branches in Clark County that had deposits of $184 million as of June 30.
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