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Crown Group Receives Authorization to Repurchase Additional Shares

4 May 2000

Crown Group, Inc. Receives Authorization to Repurchase an Additional Two Million Shares

    DALLAS--May 4, 2000--Crown Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNGR) today announced that on April 26, 2000, the Board of Directors approved the repurchase of up to two million additional shares of Crown Group's outstanding common stock in the open market or in private transactions when management believes that such repurchases are in the best interests of shareholders.
    This repurchase program marks the fourth such program approved by the Board since March of 1996. Since the inception of the first program, management has repurchased approximately four million shares of Crown common stock, while simultaneously increasing shareholders' equity by approximately 115% during the same period of time.
    "The disparity between the book value of Crown's equity and the price of our common stock has created an attractive opportunity to repurchase shares in the open market," stated Edward R. McMurphy, President and CEO of Crown Group. "We are determined to grow earnings and at the same time to continue to reduce the number of shares outstanding whenever the opportunity may present itself."
    As of May 3, 2000, Crown Group had approximately 8,263,000 common shares outstanding.